Japan, Philippines Advance Planned Warships Transfer
Japan and the Philippines are strengthening their defense alliance and advancing plans to transfer Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) warships to Manila. The May 2026 announcement by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. followed Tokyo’s lifting of its 80-year ban on exporting defense assets, a move that is expected to bolster deterrence among Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners.
Japan and the Philippines, both longtime United States treaty allies, agreed to establish a bilateral working group of top defense officials to cover policy, operations, and defense equipment and technology cooperation “to further expand and deepen policy dialogue and the defense partnership between the two countries in a comprehensive and integrated manner,” Koizumi and Teodoro said after meeting in Manila.
The defense ministers also discussed transferring up to six Abukuma-class destroyers now in service with the JMSDF to the Philippines. The vessels can be used for patrols, and for detecting aerial, surface and underwater threats, Philippine Marine Col. Dennis Hernandez told The Associated Press.
“We also agreed to move forward with discussions aimed at realizing comprehensive equipment cooperation, including education and training, maintenance and sustainment, operational coordination, information sharing and the proper management of transfer equipment, with a view to the early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft, as well as other defense equipment,” Koizumi said.
The enhanced defense partnership comes amid continued coercion by the Chinese Communist Party’s military forces in the East China and South China seas.
China Coast Guard ships have fired water cannons at and rammed Philippine government and civilian vessels operating lawfully in the South China Sea. Beijing claims most of the waterway as its territory and has bolstered its coast guard, naval and militia presence, while militarizing artificial islands to fortify its claims.
An international tribunal invalidated China’s expansive assertions in 2016 in a case brought by the Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and others also have territorial claims to the resource-rich waterway, a vital global trade route.
In the East China Sea, Beijing routinely deploys coast guard vessels and planes to harass vessels around Japan-controlled islands.
“Secretary Teodoro and I reaffirmed our strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea,” Koizumi told reporters.
In a joint statement, Koizumi and Teodoro expressed “serious concern over the increasing scale and frequency of China’s coercive activities in the maritime and airspace surrounding Japan, including intrusions into Japan’s territorial waters and airspace around the Senkaku Islands.”
The defense ministers also shared significant concerns about the South China Sea “including China’s intensification of dangerous and coercive activities against the Philippines.”
Japan consistently contributes to peace and stability in the region and globally, and the revised defense equipment transfer framework continues that effort, they said. It is aimed at enhancing the deterrence and response capabilities of partner countries.
- Source: This article was published by Indo-Pacific Defense Forum
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