Marcos eyes deeper security ties with Tokyo amid Indo-Pacific tensions, economic disruptions

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter and Pexcel John Bacon

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said his upcoming state visit to Japan will focus on deepening security cooperation as well as clarifying Tokyo’s evolving defense posture as Manila seeks stronger alliances amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific and economic disruptions triggered by the Middle East war.

During a roundtable discussion with Japanese media in Malacañang on Monday, Mr. Marcos said he will discuss how Manila and Tokyo can implement the Reciprocal Access Agreement and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement.

The Philippine President, who will conduct a state visit to Japan from May 26 to 29, will also clarify whether Tokyo will expand assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) modernization program.

The visit comes amid ongoing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and follows the recently concluded Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military drills with Japan, the US, Australia, France, Canada and New Zealand.

Amid the Middle East crisis that threatened the Philippines’ energy security, Mr. Marcos said Manila will also continue engaging with Tokyo, which has offered as much as $10 billion in energy assistance.

Japan played an active role in energy supply, he said.

The Philippines is under a year-long state of national energy emergency after the Iran war broke out. It has been scrambling for non-traditional oil partners to augment its import-dependent economy.

Mr. Marcos eyes cooperation with Japan and other Asian nations to bolster supply chains and ensure a safer and more secure supply of petroleum products.

He said Asia will look for alternative and non-traditional oil sources following the shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

He said Asian nations must institutionalize what has been started due to the Iran war.

Indonesia offered to host the oil reserve plans by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said.

As for Myanmar, the President said ASEAN will facilitate talks. “It is a wound that has not been healed,” he said, citing ASEAN’s active role in resolving Myanmar’s issue.

In the same roundtable, Mr. Marcos said it is becoming clear to Indo-Pacific nations that there are necessary partnerships and alliances. Filipino and Chinese ministers will meet in less than a month to discuss Taiwan, which Beijing claims to be a part of its country, among other issues, he noted.

JAPAN MISSILE DEAL
Meanwhile, analysts said the potential export of Japanese surface-to-ship missiles to the Philippines could not only strengthen the country’s deterrence capability but also further modernize its armed forces amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

The planned missile deal reflects Manila’ effort to boost its defense posture while protecting its sovereignty in the South China Sea, said Chester B. Cabalza, president and founder of International Development and Security Cooperation told BusinessWorld.

“The more the heavier. This is more than a deterrence act in our seas off 200 nautical miles but a showing of modernized armed forces,” Mr. Cabalza said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

This followed a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, saying Tokyo is considering exporting Type 88 surface-to-ship missiles to the Philippines, as defense ties between the two countries deepen.

Mr. Cabalza added that the Philippines’ strategic location in the so-called “first island chain” places the country in the middle of the intensifying arms race in the region, underscoring the significance of expanding defense partnerships.

“The first island chain where the Philippines is strategically located is facing [an] arms race now. Being militarized means that we need to widen our defense alliance and partnership to safeguard our own sovereignty,” he said.

Mr. Cabalza also said that the public’s reception of the possible purchase of Japanese missiles could be positive, similar to the Philippines’ acceptance of the purchase of BrahMos missiles from India as part of the AFP modernization program.

“We have not seen further escalation after we bought the BrahMos but it only strengthened the country’s strategic autonomy,” he said.

The country’s military modernization push has led the Philippines into the “era of defense economy,” where advanced military assets are considered an important investment for national security, he said.

“Possessing those missiles is a necessity and funded by people’s money. Filipinos deserve those sophisticated armaments to defend our people and state,” he added.

Mr. Cabalza does not expect the Philippine acquisition to irk China, citing President Xi Jinping’s recent meeting with US President Donald J. Trump.

“The recent Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing will tone down the two superpowers’ messaging on the latest acquisition deal of the Philippines,” he said.

“China’s pronouncement will directly affect Tokyo more than Manila as we are just doing a shopping spree for deterrence and military modernization,” Mr. Cabalza said.

Meanwhile, Edmund S. Tayao, president and chief executive officer of the Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, highlighted the importance of the acquisition to the country’s military modernization, noting that risks only arise from China amid its bid to keep the Philippines “vulnerable.”

“If China has not been saber rattling, there’s no need for the Philippines to step up modernizing the military and beefing up defense capabilities. This is thus for deterrence and readiness,” Mr. Tayao said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Anyone who’ll say it escalates only echoes China’s line which for all intents and purposes intended to have the country remain vulnerable and malleable for them,” he said.