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View all search resultsJapan, Philippines agree to enhance defense cooperation with eye on China
Tokyo and Manila boost cooperation on defense equipment and technology in response to China's assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
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Japanese Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani (right) and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro shake hands ahead of a meeting in Seoul on Sept. 9, 2025. (Kyodo/-)
J
apanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, agreed Tuesday to boost cooperation on defense equipment and technology in response to China's assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
During talks in Seoul on the sidelines of the annual Seoul Defense Dialogue security forum, the two ministers discussed Japan's export of retired Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to the Philippines as part of their cooperation, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
"To deepen defense cooperation with the Philippines is of great significance for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," Nakatani told reporters.
Regarding the destroyer exports, which Nakatani and Teodoro also discussed at their last meeting in Singapore in June, Japan is considering providing used Abukuma-class vessels commissioned in 1989 or later, according to Japanese government sources.
Exports of highly lethal weapons, including destroyers, are restricted under Japan's principles on the overseas transfer of defense equipment and technology, but are permitted if the weapons are jointly developed and produced.
The Japanese government hopes to export the vessels by classifying them as "jointly developed" ships, with their specifications to be modified at the Philippines' request, according to the sources.
Nakatani and Teodoro also discussed further strengthening cooperation between their countries' forces, after Japan's parliament in June approved legislation for a defense pact with the Philippines to facilitate joint exercises and disaster response.
The reciprocal access agreement, slated to take effect later this week, is the third such deal for Japan, following agreements with Australia and Britain.
The Philippines has procured air surveillance radar systems from Japan in a bid to boost its defense capabilities in the face of China's activities in the South China Sea. Manila and Beijing have clashed over their overlapping claims in the area.
Japan, for its part, has seen Chinese vessels repeatedly entering its waters around the China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Nakatani and Teodoro also affirmed the importance of multinational defense cooperation with the United States, Australia, South Korea and other nations.
