In their first Foreign and Defense Ministerial meeting on April 9, Japan and the Philippines decided to strengthen security ties in the face of China's increasingly assertive maritime activities.
It was the first round of so-called two-plus-two discussions between the two US allies, who have territorial claims to Beijing that overlap. "We promised to maintain observance of international laws, including the 2016 arbitral award to the Philippines in conflicts with China, as well as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stated.
China claims practically the whole South China Sea, putting it in a stalemate with a number of Southeast Asian neighbours. In a landmark decision in 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague invalidated China's claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has turned a blind eye to the decision.
"We were able to confirm our will to further improve our collaboration in dealing with regional and global concerns, as well as our cooperation in realising the Free and Open Indo-Pacific," Hayashi said after the meeting. "Areas of cooperation include, among others, guaranteeing the safety of Southeast Asian sea routes and discussing the expansion of joint military drills and exchanges," he said.
"We discussed perspectives on regional security matters of common interest, notably freedom of navigation and over flight," according to Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, as well as "compliance with international rules," including the 2016 tribunal judgment.
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