Japan Will Send Air Defense Radars to the Philippines

As China pushes its maritime expansion in Asia, Japan and the Philippines are finding more reasons to strengthen an old alliance. 

Japan and the Philippines have agreed to strengthen their security cooperation in a two-plus-two meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers and defense ministers.

The meeting was attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. 

The meeting was the first “two-plus-two” security talks between the two countries. 

“We would like to further bolster our cooperation with the Philippines, which has great significance (for Japan) in terms of security,” Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told a regular news conference in Japan prior to the meeting. 

During the high-level meeting, Japan and the Philippines signed a contract for Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to export air defense radars to the Philippines. The radars are expected to be delivered in 2023. 

Japan considers the Philippines a “strategic point for security” because of its geographical location in Southeast Asia, according to the Japan Times. Bolstering the Philippines’ security capabilities is also seen to benefit Japan’s own security interests. 

Only two countries in Southeast Asia have two-plus-two meetings with Japan, the other being Indonesia. 

Japan also has the two-plus-two framework with the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, India, and Russia.