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Japan, Philippines to confirm defense cooperation amid China's rise

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 Kyodo News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister" s="" official="" residence="" in="" on="" November="" Kiyoshi="" EPA-EFE="" POOL="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/11/03/japanese-prime-minister-fumio-kishida-epa-11032023.jpg"/><figcaption>Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister&#x27;s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on November 2, 2023. <em>Kiyoshi Ota, EPA-EFE/POOL/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are set to agree Friday to bolster defense cooperation between their countries amid China&#x27;s expanding military presence in the region.</p><p>At their meeting in Manila, Kishida and Marcos are likely to confirm that they will begin negotiations on a new bilateral treaty, known as a reciprocal access agreement, to strengthen security ties and facilitate joint defense drills, government sources said.</p><p>It will be Japan&#x27;s first RAA with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the third following pacts with Australia and Britain that took effect earlier this year. Kishida arrived in Manila on Friday afternoon.</p><p>Japan and the Philippines have been seeking to boost trilateral defense cooperation with the United States in response to China&#x27;s construction of artificial islands with military infrastructure in nearby waters and frequent intrusions into the territorial seas of others.</p><p>Tokyo has dismissed Beijing&#x27;s claim over the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, while Manila has long been at odds with the communist country over its claims of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea.</p><p>In late October, Manila and Beijing blamed one another over a collision involving their vessels in the South China Sea, home to some of the world&#x27;s busiest shipping lanes.</p><p>During his stay in Manila, Kishida is poised to promise to provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radars under a new support framework for like-minded nations that share values such as the rule of law and respect for basic human rights, the sources said.</p><p>Japan has designated four Asia-Pacific countries -- Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia and the Philippines -- as recipients of the grant program, called official security assistance, or OSA, earmarking 2 billion yen ($13 million) for the fiscal year through March 2024.</p><p>Kishida and Marcos are also expected to agree to work together toward a special Japan-ASEAN summit in Tokyo in December. Japan is scheduled to host the gathering to commemorate 50 years of friendship and cooperation with the regional bloc.</p><p>On Saturday, Kishida is slated to become the first Japanese premier to deliver a speech at the Philippine parliament, in which he is certain to address Tokyo&#x27;s basic policy on Southeast Asian diplomacy for the future, the government said.</p><p>In his three-day tour to Southeast Asia, Kishida is also arranging to visit Kuala Lumpur to talk with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday.</p><p>The two leaders may exchange views on ways to promote diplomatic and defense cooperation, as Kuala Lumpur, along with Manila and other ASEAN nations, has overlapping territorial claims with Beijing in the South China Sea, the sources said.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uUMELa2JR9k?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Kishida and Marcos are likely to confirm that they will begin negotiations on a new bilateral treaty.