Philippines, Japan conduct joint exercise in South China Sea
KYODO NEWS - 22 hours ago - 22:44 | All, World, Japan
The Philippines and Japan conducted a joint maritime exercise Saturday in an area of the South China Sea that the Southeast Asian country insists it has jurisdiction over, amid China's intensifying claims in the waters.
The Miguel Malvar, a guided missile frigate from the Philippine Navy and the Takanami, a destroyer from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, took part in the exercise, which was held west of the town of Masinloc on the Philippines' main island of Luzon.
The exercise, called the Maritime Cooperative Activity, is aimed at strengthening international cooperation to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Philippine military has said.
Kyodo News and some other select members of the media from the Philippines and Japan were onboard the frigate, and watched it and the Japanese ship conduct an anti-submarine warfare drill that the countries did not conduct during their first such exercise last August.
"The spirit of friendship and mutual respect in our maritime forces remain vital in promoting peace, stability and maritime security in the region," Capt. Paul Michael Hechanova, commander of the Miguel Malvar, said in a message to the Takanami, as seen in a video released by the Philippine military.
Two Chinese navy ships were spotted from a distance but there were no radio challenges or other untoward incidents.
The Philippines has reported repeated incursions by Chinese vessels in its exclusive economic zone, some sailing to within some 50 nautical miles of Luzon's shore earlier this year. China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that invalidated the country's claims over almost the entire South China Sea.
Japan and the Philippines signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement to facilitate joint exercises and disaster relief operations last July, and aside from holding bilateral drills the two countries have also taken part in multilateral exercises involving the United States and Australia, among others.
Related coverage:
China, ASEAN, Arab states hold 1st summit to bolster economic ties
ASEAN leaders meet as U.S. tariffs rattle regional economies
Japan PM hails "relations of trust" with Vietnam, Philippine leaders
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
18 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
US reportedly asked Japan to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has asked Japan to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, a request that angered Tokyo and led it to put off a planned high-level meeting with Washington, the Financial Times reported Friday. The request was made recently by Elbridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the matter, including two officials in Tokyo. Colby, a seasoned strategist, had previously pressed Japan to increase its defense spending to 3 percent of its GDP. The higher demand prompted Japan to cancel a meeting involving foreign and defense chiefs from the two countries, which the paper said was due to take place in Washington on July 1. The meeting would have been the first since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump took office in October and January, respectively. Kyodo News reported in late May that Japan and the United States were considering holding the so-called two-plus-two security talks in Washington this summer. Japan and the United States had not formally said such talks, as held in July last year in Tokyo, would take place. Citing one of the officials, the newspaper said the decision to cancel the July 1 talks was also influenced by the timing of Japan's upper house election, set for July 20. In 2022, after Trump's first term, Japan decided to double its annual defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, a dramatic move in postwar security policy under the country's war-renouncing Constitution. But Trump continues to complain that the U.S.-Japan security treaty is one-sided, with his administration apparently planning to ask Tokyo to pay more for American troops based in the Japanese archipelago once bilateral negotiations over his tariffs proceed.
The Mainichi
33 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
Chinese aircraft carrier moves from Pacific to East China Sea: Japan
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- One of the two Chinese aircraft carriers operating in the Pacific moved to the East China Sea on Friday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said, after confirming their simultaneous operations in the ocean for the first time early this month. Together with five other ships including missile destroyers, the Liaoning sailed northward through waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island, while the Shandong remains in the Pacific, according to the ministry. On June 9, the ministry announced it had spotted the Liaoning and Shandong conducting takeoff and landing drills near Japan's easternmost and southernmost islands of Minamitori and Okinotori, respectively, further raising Tokyo's vigilance against Beijing's military activities.
Asahi Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan hosts coast guard drills with U.S. and Philippines as sea tensions rise
In this photo provided by Japan Coast Guard, patrol vessels of U.S. Coast Guard, left, Japan Coast Guard, center, and Philippine Coast Guard, participate in a joint training off Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, on June 20. (Japan Coast Guard via AP) Japan's coast guard on Friday held a joint exercise with counterparts from the United States and the Philippines, as the three Pacific nations beef up defense cooperation in the face of China's expanding maritime activities. The exercise came after Japan confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers had operated together for the first time in the Pacific in June. Japan and China had blamed each other after Tokyo complained that a Chinese fighter jet from one of the carriers flew dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. Friday's coast guard exercise just off Japan's southern prefecture of Kagoshima involved 350 personnel from the three countries, and was based on a scenario of a collision between vessels at high seas, a fire and crew members falling overboard. The three nation's leaders last year agreed to bolster maritime cooperation, as they expressed concern over Beijing's military maneuvers in the region. Their first joint drills were held in the Philippines in 2023. The coast guard cooperation is part of an effort to secure a 'free and open' Indo-Pacific by promoting mutual understanding and trust, Japan coast guard commander Adm. Yoshio Seguchi told a news conference Wednesday. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, and recently as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Beijing also sends coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, which it claims virtually in its entirety, clashing frequently with Philippine vessels.
