Phl, Japan mull advanced defense partnership

The Philippines and Japan are mulling an advanced defense partnership following the visit of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in key military facilities in Luzon on Sunday.

Teodoro led the key officials of the Department of National Defense and other high-ranking military officers, accompanying Nakatani in his tour around the Basa Airbase.

The Japanese minister visited several military installations, including a Fuel Storage Facility, the Air Missile Defense System Training Center, the 4-Bay Hangar, and Sterling Hangar, which are essential for aircraft maintenance and operations.

They also visited the Philippine Air Force’s FA-50PH Flight Simulator — a state-of-the-art training system for pilot proficiency, and the C2 Fusion Center — a command and control hub for integrated military operations.

After touring Basa Air Base, the top officials headed to Wallace Air Station to assess the country’s Air Defense Simulation and Wargaming.

This center is vital for military training, strategic planning, and the operation of Mobile and Fixed Radar installations, which are crucial for monitoring and securing Philippine airspace.

They were also given an overview of the C2 Building, highlighting the country’s advanced command and control capabilities.

On the sidelines, Teodoro and Nakatani discussed and explored ways to advance strategic defense partnership, particularly on maritime and air defense, capacity-building activities, and regional security initiatives amid the recent Philippine Senate concurrence on the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the two countries.

The RAA will allow the Japan Self-Defense Forces to have closer cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Teodoro previously said the RAA would also lead to greater exchanges of information and other cooperative activities — whether bilaterally or multilaterally — based on the rules-based order as well as the upholding of the essence and principles of international order, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Meanwhile, the two countries are strengthening efforts to deepen domain awareness to effectively identify and respond to potential threats in the region, according to Teodoro.

In an ambush interview in La Union, Teodoro said he would be sitting with Nakatani to discuss the Philippines-Japan defense cooperation.

“Tomorrow, we will talk in-depth about enhancing bilateral, trilateral, and squad cooperation, not only between Minister Nakatani and myself, but also between him and the President,” Teodoro told reporters.

Teodoro and Nakatani along with other defense and military officials from both nations visited key military facilities in Basa Air Base and Wallace Air Base in Luzon.

“Well, basically, of course, what was visited was Basa Air Base for looking at our Fusion Center. And here, you know that maritime awareness is also a Japanese initiative, so capabilities were demonstrated and site facilities were demonstrated, too,” Teodoro said.