Japan vows to help Philippines defend its remote islands

MANILA--Japan pledged Thursday to help the Philippines defend its "remote islands", as both governments expressed concern over China's robust moves to stake its claims to disputed Asian waters.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said China's contentious claim to nearly all of the South China Sea and its territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea were discussed during top-level talks in Manila.

"We agreed that we will further co-operate in terms of the defence of remote islands... the defence of territorial seas as well as protection of maritime interests," Onodera told a joint news conference.

"We face a very similar situation in the East China Sea of Japan. The Japan side is very concerned that this kind of situation in the South China Sea could affect the situation in the East China Sea," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin welcomed Japan's offer of support for its poorly resourced military.

"We have agreed to continue our exchanges of information, exchanges of technology to help each other to make our defence relations stronger," Gazmin said.

Neither side offered specifics but Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in February his country was expecting to get 10 new Japanese patrol boats within 18 months.

The Japanese military brutally occupied the Philippines during World War II, but the two countries have since grown closer due to trade and investment, and more recently, through China's assertiveness.

Del Rosario told the Financial Times newspaper in December that a rearmed Japan would help the region counter-balance China.

Onodera and Gazmin also on Thursday welcomed an increased military presence in Asia by their mutual ally, the United States.

However Onodera said Japan was intent on avoiding conflict with China.

"I would also like to emphasise here that the current situation should not be changed with the use of force but should be done through the rule of law," Onodera said.

China claims most of the South China Seam including waters close to its neighbours' coasts.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have competing claims.

The Philippines has complained of increased Chinese "bullying" in the contested waters in recent years, and infuriated China by appealing to allies Japan and the United States for help.

The Philippines says China last year occupied an atoll well within the Filipino exclusive economic zone.

Tensions between China and Japan have also escalated over competing claims to the Japanese-held Senkaku islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea.

Interaksyon

Abe to visit Asean countries to bolster ties

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in late July after the House of Councillors election, according to informed sources.

By reinforcing ties with Asean countries, Abe will aim to put a brake on China, which has strengthened its maritime activities in the East and South China seas.

He also wants the economic growth of these countries to contribute to Japan’s own growth.

In January, not long after he became prime minister, Abe made his first official visits abroad to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. In May, Abe visited Myanmar, another member of Asean.

Asean countries have grown wary of China’s increasing maritime might in the region and have proposed a code of conduct in the South China Sea that would be legally binding on China.

During his upcoming trip, Abe plans to confirm with Asean countries the importance of complying with international law.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam all have territorial disputes with China over islands in the South China Sea. Their situations are similar to that of Japan, as China claims the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

At a summit meeting in the Philippines, Abe plans to offer patrol vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard to help improve its maritime security.

The government may also relax visa requirements for citizens of the Philippines, Malaysia and three other Asean members.

In his meetings with Asean leaders, Abe will explain these plans in the hope that tourists from these countries will increase.

The Jakarta Post