Japan to give Philippine military coastal radar and surveillance drones
Japan and the Philippines signed a grant worth 4.3 billion yen (€24 million) in Manila for a coastal radar system and surveillance drones. The equipment will help track ships in a region where China disputes maritime claims.
Japan on Monday, 10 November, agreed to provide the Philippine armed forces with a coastal radar system and surveillance drones to monitor vessels. The grant is worth 4.3 billion Japanese yen, or about €24 million. Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro and Japan's ambassador to the Philippines, Katsuro Kitagawa, signed the deal in Manila. The radar is destined for the Philippine Navy, while the drones will go to the Air Force.
Japan's foreign ministry says the equipment will also help protect shipping lanes important to Japan, including those through the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, which lies between the Philippines and Taiwan. Tokyo says the new radar will be the first complete defence system it supplies under its Official Security Assistance programme. In February, Japan already handed over five coastal radar systems to the Philippines under a 2023 grant.
China's position
Beijing has criticised the programme since it was created, calling it an attempt to build a security network around China under the cover of development aid. It has also described Japan's growing military role in the South China Sea as destabilising and accused Tokyo of using security partnerships to advance US strategic interests.
The Philippines and China both claim Scarborough Shoal. China's military said it sent ships and aircraft on patrol there on 30 October. In a phone call on 3 November, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Manila to act cautiously. Lazaro called the conversation "frank and constructive" and said both sides wanted to keep talking.
China claims historic rights to resources across much of the South China Sea. In a case brought by the Philippines, an international tribunal ruled in 2016 that those claims had no legal basis where they exceeded the rights granted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing rejects the ruling.
Other support
Japan and the Philippines are also discussing the transfer of an Abukuma-class destroyer to the Philippine navy. Their defence ministers said in October they wanted the handover to happen as soon as possible after Japan retires the ship, which it expects to do in the coming years. Philippine crews would be trained first.
Separately, the EU approved a €15 million package in July to help Philippine forces monitor the country's waters. It is the bloc's first grant to the Philippines under the European Peace Facility and will fund coastal radar, infrared surveillance equipment and training.
