Japan, Philippines boost ties and hold joint naval exercise

The Philippine and Japanese navies yesterday held their first joint exercise in the South China Sea, as the two US allies boost security ties in the face of China’s growing pressure.

The drills followed the signing less than a month ago of an agreement between Manila and Tokyo to allow the deployment of troops on each other’s territory.

The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami and the Philippine guided missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal took part in the two nations’ first bilateral “Maritime Cooperative Activity,” the Philippine military said in a statement.

“This activity was part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen regional and international cooperation towards realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.

The two vessels held a communications exercise and undertook tactical maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for parts of the South China Sea that are closest to its coast.

These “enhanced the tactical capabilities of the Philippine Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and reinforced the strong ties and mutual commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the region,” the statement added.

A similar exercise was held two days earlier, also in South China Sea waters close to the Philippines, between the Philippine navy patrol ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz and the US Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Mobile.

The Philippines and Japan are longtime allies of the US, which has been strengthening its alliances from Canberra to Tokyo to counter China’s growing military might and influence in the region.

The deepening of Philippine-Japanese security ties comes as China’s saber rattling toward Taiwan and over the South China Sea fuels fears of a potential conflict that could drag in the US.

There have been escalating confrontations at sea between Chinese and Philippine vessels as Beijing steps up its efforts to push its claims to nearly all of the strategic South China Sea.