FOCUS: Japan, Philippines to Forge Quasi-Alliance against China

Tokyo, May 28 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of Japan and the Philippines agreed at their summit in Tokyo on Thursday to upgrade their countries’ relations to a “quasi-alliance,” aiming to counter China’s increasing military activities, a common concern for both countries. During their summit, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is visiting Japan as a state guest, agreed to upgrade their countries’ relationship to a comprehensive and strategic partnership. Given uncertainty over U.S. policies, Japan and the Philippines, both U.S. allies, hope to work together to help keep the United States focused on the Indo-Pacific region. “We’ll strengthen sustainable ties as like-minded partners that will not be swayed by changes in the global environment,” Takaichi said at a joint press conference after the summit. Marcos expressed hope for further elevating the bilateral relationship. Japan is the first country with which the Philippines has agreed to establish a comprehensive and strategic partnership. As part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine military, the two countries signed a reciprocal access agreement in 2024 and an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement in 2026. At Thursday’s summit, Takaichi and Marcos agreed to start formal negotiations on a general security of military information agreement, or GSOMIA, that would allow the two countries to share classified information. The Philippines and China have territorial disputes, especially over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. In 2024, a Chinese coast guard ship collided with a Philippine vessel in the area, leaving several people injured. Japan, too, has been concerned about China’s maritime expansion, especially around the Senkaku Islands in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa. The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are claimed by China, which calls the island chain Diaoyu. A source close to Takaichi said that “China is far more heavy-handed in its actions against the Philippines than it is in the East China Sea.” Beyond China’s maritime actions, another shared concern between Tokyo and Manila is China’s potential use of force against Taiwan. As Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines are part of the so-called first island chain that China has set as one of its maritime lines of defense, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, “The Philippines is also a very important country in terms of geopolitics.” With Japan revising its three principles on defense equipment exports and their implementation guidelines, Tokyo and Manila plan to deepen cooperation on defense equipment. The Philippine government eyes a possible acquisition of the Maritime SDF’s used Abukuma-class destroyers. “We will boost communication between defense authorities,” Takaichi said at the press conference. Japan and the Philippines also hope to strengthen trilateral cooperation with the United States. The two Asian nations are concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump may focus his attention on the Middle East and Central and South America, and reduce his country’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific region, pundits said. “It is significant that Japan and the Philippines were able to set the direction for their relationship for the next 10 years at this summit,” a Japanese government official said, expressing hope that it could be leveraged to keep the United States involved in the Asia-Pacific region. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]