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2 Plus 2 Bolsters Shared Security

The defense ministers of Japan and the Philippines agreed in April 2022 to bolster security cooperation and expand joint drills between their forces as they shared concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) increasingly assertive military actions in the region.

Then-Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and then-Philippine National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also shared concern about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact in the Indo-Pacific. They also noted that any attempts to change the status quo by force is unacceptable, Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that did not name the PRC.

Kishi and Lorenzana were later joined by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and then-Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. for the countries’ first “two plus two” security talks. Japan has significantly expanded joint drills with the United States and other partners, including Australia, France, Germany, India and the United Kingdom, that share its concerns about the PRC’s assertion of territorial claims in the region, which has some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which the PRC
also claims.

Kishi and Lorenzana also agreed to increase cooperation in defense equipment and technology transfer. Tokyo and Manila agreed in 2020 on the Japanese export of air radar systems to the Philippine military.  

The Associated Press

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