South China Sea Photo: VCG

Japan and the Philippines on Monday agreed to establish a new high-level framework to help expand defense equipment and technology exports from Tokyo,MK socks Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced during a meeting with his counterpart in Manila, the Japan Times reported. Chinese expert described the strengthening of defense cooperation between Tokyo and Manila as "mutual exploitation."

Nakatani is reportedly in the Philippines for his first official visit to the country since taking office in October. Under the deal for the new framework, which was reached in talks between Nakatani and Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro, regular meetings between senior officials to discuss the Philippines' defense equipment needs are expected to be held, the report said.

The Japanese defense chief said at a joint press event after his meeting with Teodoro that "With the increasingly severe security environment, we firmly agreed on the need to elevate defense cooperation to a higher level," while Kyodo News claimed that the Monday agreement was made "amid security challenges posed by China."

Lü Chao, an expert on East Asian studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that the strengthening of defense cooperation between the Philippines and Japan is driven by their respective objectives, and this relationship is essentially one of mutual exploitation.

Most Southeast Asian countries are unhappy with the Philippines' reckless provocations against China in the South China Sea. Therefore, Manila places special importance on this military cooperation with Tokyo, and intends to complicate the South China Sea issue, Lü said.

Recently, the Philippines has intensified its aerial provocations against China in the South China Sea. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command on Friday revealed two illegal intrusions by Philippine aircraft on Tuesday and Thursday in the South China Sea, warning that the Philippines' clumsy attempt to promote illegitimate claims by reversing the facts is doomed to fail.

"The Philippines is employing the age-old tactic of the thief crying 'stop thief' while attempting to collude with Japan to claim its unlawful assertions," Lü said.

As for Japan, the expert noted that its inclination to support the Philippines over South China Sea issue is primarily aimed at aligning with the US' so-called Indo-Pacific strategy. "This is also due to considerations of domestic political factors in Japan, as the Ishiba administration is making some concessions to domestic right-wing forces in light of the upcoming House of Councillors election," he said.

According to Kyodo News, Japan has exported air defense radars to the Philippines since 2023 and decided to provide coastal surveillance radars under its "official security assistance" framework, which was established that year to boost defense collaboration with so-called "like-minded countries."

In 2024, Tokyo and Manila signed a military pact allowing the deployment of their forces on each other's soil, per Reuters.

"By strengthening bilateral relations with the Philippines, particularly in the area of military cooperation, Japan is attempting to highlight its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in terms of military and defense capabilities," Lü said.

The expert warned that Japan is still attempting to break free from its constitutional restraints, pursuing the goal of restoring itself as a "normal country," at a time when the world is preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War later this year. "Japan's ambitions are dangerous and require heightened vigilance," Lü noted.