{"id":4985,"date":"2026-01-15T10:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/japan-philippines-sign-new-defence-pacts-amid-surging-china-tensions\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:35:40","slug":"japan-philippines-sign-new-defence-pacts-amid-surging-china-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/japan-philippines-sign-new-defence-pacts-amid-surging-china-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan, Philippines sign new defence pacts amid surging China tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>One of the deals allows the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other supplies when their forces stage joint training.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The Philippines and Japan signed two defence pacts Thursday, including a deal allowing their forces to exchange supplies and services,\u00a0the latest in a series of agreements aimed at countering China\u2019s regional assertiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Tokyo and Manila have significantly deepened military ties in recent years, joining a security partnership with Washington, and Japan supplying patrol boats and radio gear to the Philippines.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/14\/chinas-military-warns-philippines-against-provocations-in-south-china-sea\">China\u2019s military warns Philippines against provocations in South China Sea<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/12\/philippines-accuses-china-of-ramming-damaging-vessel-in-south-china-sea\">Philippines accuses China of ramming, damaging vessel in South China Sea<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/14\/philippines-says-fishermen-hurt-boat-damaged-in-china-coastguard-skirmish\">Philippines says fishermen hurt, boat damaged in China coastguard skirmish<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The Philippines and China have engaged in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/10\/11\/whats-behind-escalating-china-philippines-tensions-in-the-south-china-sea\">frequent clashes<\/a> in the contested South China Sea, which Beijing claims in nearly its entirety despite an international court <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2016\/7\/13\/no-legal-basis-for-chinas-south-china-sea-claims\">ruling<\/a> that its assertion has no legal basis.<\/p>\n<p>Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement with Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro in Manila. The deal allows the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training.<\/p>\n<p>Motegi and Lazaro also announced \u200da $6m Official \u2060Security Assistance package from Tokyo to fund the building of facilities to house rigid-hulled inflatable boats donated by Japan to boost Manila\u2019s naval capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of the resupply deal at a joint briefing in Manila, Lazaro said it would \u201cenhance our mutual military interoperability and readiness\u201d while building off a previously signed visiting forces agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe both recognised the value of promoting the rule of law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, especially in the South China Sea,\u201d Lazaro added.<\/p>\n<p>Motegi said he and Lazaro \u201cconcurred on continuing to oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China seas\u201d, in a clear rebuke of Beijing\u2019s increasing assertiveness but without naming China.<\/p>\n<p>In mid-2024, both countries signed the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/7\/8\/japan-philippines-sign-defence-pact-with-eyes-on-china\">Reciprocal Access Agreement<\/a>, which allows the deployment of forces of either country to the other\u2019s territory for joint and larger combat exercises, including live-fire drills. That agreement took effect in September.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, China and Japan have long been at odds over historical and territorial issues, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/7\/china-bans-export-of-dual-use-items-to-japan-amid-tensions-over-taiwan\">relations deteriorated sharply<\/a> after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that Tokyo could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p>The Japanese leader\u2019s remarks infuriated Beijing, which has long pledged to unify Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, using force if necessary, and has prompted various economic punitive measures.<\/p>\n<p>In his annual New Year\u2019s address, Chinese President Xi Jinping called the \u201creunification\u201d of China and Taiwan \u201cunstoppable\u201d. He made the remarks days after China\u2019s military wrapped up live-fire drills that simulated a blockade of the island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the deals allows the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other supplies when their forces stage joint training. The Philippines and Japan signed two defence pacts Thursday, including a deal allowing their forces to exchange supplies and services,\u00a0the latest in a series of agreements aimed at countering China\u2019s regional assertiveness. Tokyo and &#8230; <a title=\"Japan, Philippines sign new defence pacts amid surging China tensions\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/japan-philippines-sign-new-defence-pacts-amid-surging-china-tensions\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Japan, Philippines sign new defence pacts amid surging China tensions\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}