Japan, US, Australia to help Philippines increase defense capabilities
Defense ministers from Japan, the United States and Australia have agreed to help the Philippines increase its defense capabilities as part of their efforts to create a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The agreement was reached at a quadrilateral defense meeting held on Saturday in Singapore.
Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro attended.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Nakatani said China has been increasing its activities in the East and South China Seas.
He expressed his hope to have a full debate among the four nations on defense cooperation.
The four officials expressed serious concerns over China's activities causing regional instability and its attempts to change the status quo unilaterally by force or coercion.
They acknowledged the need to protect the freedom of navigation and overflight.
The defense ministers agreed to export equipment to the Philippines to help increase its defense capabilities.
They also plan to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance activities and jointly collect information.
The officials announced a joint statement confirming these issues.
Ahead of this meeting, the defense ministers from Japan, the US and Australia also held trilateral talks.
They agreed to carry out military exercises to test fire US Tomahawk cruise missiles and build an information-sharing mechanism for their missile defense systems.
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