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Japan, Philippines, U.S. discuss defense priorities

Felix Kim

Enhancing maritime security cooperation, protecting freedom of navigation in Indo-Pacific waters, and strengthening humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) were central topics at the inaugural Japan-Philippines-United States Trilateral Defense Policy Dialogue (TDPD) held online in mid-September 2022. Defense cooperation among the countries is key to countering persistent challenges to stability in the East China and South China seas, analysts say.

“Both the Philippines and Japan are U.S. defense allies, while the Philippines and Japan are strategic partners,” Jeffrey Ordaniel, maritime programs director at the Hawaii-based think tank Pacific Forum and an associate professor at Tokyo International University, told FORUM. “Defense cooperation, therefore, is always on their security agenda. Moreover, contingency plans for any trouble in the Korean Peninsula and the [Taiwan] cross-straits rest on the ability of the three countries to work with each other.”

Each nation’s delegation to the TDPD identified the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific and freedom of navigation and overflight as necessary for regional peace and stability, according to a Japanese Defense Ministry news release. (Pictured: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and U.S. Navy vessels conduct routine exercises in the Philippine Sea in August 2022.)

Those necessities are being challenged by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Ordaniel said. “Persistent Chinese efforts to change the status quo of the East and South China seas have weakened the applicability of international law in the region’s global commons.”

Linking the defense capabilities of Japan and the Philippines strengthens all three partner nations and enables more effective defense and deterrence against Beijing’s challenges, he added.

“The Philippines remains the weak link in the First Island Chain but a critical part of it,” Julio Amador III, president of the Foundation for the National Interest, a Manila-based think tank, told FORUM. Enhancing the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ capabilities is a logical priority for Tokyo and Washington, he said.

The so-called First Island Chain, a group of archipelagoes off continental East Asia, is the best position from which to contain any Chinese aggression, according to a U.S. Naval Institute assessment.

TDPD delegates also discussed maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and information sharing, among other topics. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is the leading nontraditional challenge to maritime security, Amador said, and PRC-linked vessels are the main perpetrators.

“Japan has been a major contributor to the Philippine Coast Guard’s capability improvements, while the U.S. contribution to maritime domain awareness is no small thing,” he said. “More trilateral discussions allow Japan and the U.S. to focus on their strengths when assisting the Philippines and avoid duplication.”

To boost Manila’s maritime law enforcement capacity, U.S. Coast Guard instructors and the Japan Coast Guard Mobile Cooperation Team conducted vessel boarding operations training with the Philippine Coast Guard in April 2022, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines reported.

HADR also is a priority for Japan and the Philippines, Ordaniel said, as both are perennially hard-hit by natural disasters, including recent typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

“The Philippines has a lot to gain not only from Japanese assistance during disasters but also from Tokyo’s experience in terms of natural disaster adaptation and mitigation, and related mechanisms like early warning systems,” he said. “The United States is also obviously a highly capable ally that could be relied upon during calamities.”

Felix Kim is a FORUM contributor reporting from Seoul, South Korea.

IMAGE CREDIT: PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS OSWALD FELIX JR./U.S. NAVY

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