Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the start of negotiations on Friday, November 3 in Manila. Such an agreement would allow the deployment of soldiers from the two countries on their respective territories, against a backdrop of maritime tensions in a region where China displays its ambitions for military power.
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With our correspondent in Tokyo, Frederic Charles
Last February, during a visit to Tokyo, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. launched the idea of a security agreement between the Philippines, Japan and the United States, comparable to the military cooperation that exists between Japan, South Korea and the United States.
In front of the growing military pressure from China in the region, the Philippine president gave access to American forces to four new bases in the Philippines, in addition to the five already open to the American ally. Today, he is taking advantage of the first trip to Manila by a Japanese head of government since 2017 to negotiate a defense agreement with Fumio Kishida, which will authorize the two countries to send soldiers to their respective territories for training programs or joint exercises.
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Fear of a possible invasion of Taiwan
Japan has decided to provide the Philippines with a coastal surveillance radar system as well as patrol vessels to “ better enforcement of maritime law “. By their geographical location, Japan and the Philippines would be directly involved in a possible invasion of Taiwan by China.
The United States maintains its strongest overseas military presence in Japan. In Asia, American strategy involves the deployment of forces along the large archipelagos which extend, facing China, from Japan to the Philippines via Taiwan.
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