Japan agreed on Monday to give the Philippine military a coastal radar system and surveillance drones to help it track ships, in a grant worth 4.3 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to €24 million.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro and Japan’s ambassador Katsuro Kitagawa signed the agreement in Manila. Under the deal, the radar will go to the Philippine Navy and the drones to the Air Force.
Japan’s foreign ministry said the equipment would also help protect shipping routes important to Japan, including those through the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, between the Philippines and Taiwan. Japan previously handed over five coastal radar systems to the Philippines in February under a 2023 grant, and Tokyo says the new radar will be the first complete defence system it supplies under its Official Security Assistance programme.
Beijing has criticised the programme since its creation, calling it an attempt to build a security network around China under the cover of development aid. China claims historic rights to resources across much of the South China Sea, and Beijing has separately described Japan’s expanding military role in the region as destabilising.
The Philippines and China both claim Scarborough Shoal, where China’s military said it sent ships and aircraft on patrol on 30 October. In a phone call on 3 November, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Manila to act cautiously over the dispute, while Lazaro described their conversation as frank and constructive.
Japan and the Philippines are also discussing transferring an Abukuma-class destroyer to the Philippine navy. Their defence ministers said in October that they wanted the handover to take place as soon as possible after Japan retires the ship, with Philippine crews receiving training first.
In a separate development, the EU approved a €15 million package in July to help Philippine forces monitor the country’s waters. Its first grant to the Philippines under the European Peace Facility will fund coastal radar, infrared surveillance equipment and training.
Source: Euronews. Read the original report ↗