West PH Sea: Manila to receive Japan security aid for 4th straight year

The Filipino military will continue to be a recipient of Japan’s official security assistance framework for the fourth straight year, strengthening their defense partnership amid an increasingly assertive China, Japanese government sources said Sunday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will convey the decision to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, the sources said.

The two leaders are also expected to agree on the start of negotiations for the General Security of Military Information Agreement, an intelligence-sharing pact.

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Manila and Beijing remain locked in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, with Japan hoping to build up its deterrence against China by supporting the strengthening of the Filipino military.

Further details regarding recipients of the official security assistance, which supports like-minded partners by providing defense equipment, will be finalized within the current fiscal year through March.

The Philippines has been a recipient since the framework was first established in fiscal 2023, receiving defense radars and agreeing to the construction of waterways and hangars for rigid-hulled inflatable boats.

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Under the GSOMIA, Japan and the Philippines can share security-related classified information, while Japan will be able to utilize data collected in the South China Sea, with hopes that the agreement will later make way for a trilateral one with the United States.

Takaichi and Marcos will discuss their commitment toward a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, a vision advocated by Tokyo to counter China’s growing military and economic clout in the region, as well as cooperating on energy security amid concerns over crude oil supplies on the back of tensions in the Middle East. /dl