Yomiuri reported on Sunday that Tokyo (Reuters) – Japan will export to the Philippines using naval destroyers to strengthen its deterrent effect on China’s maritime expansion.
The Japan Daily said the export plan involved six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts served by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces in service for more than 30 years.
Defense Ministers Gen Nakatani and Gilberto Teodoro agreed to the export of the destroyer when they met in Singapore last month, adding that the Philippine military will conduct inspections this summer as part of final preparations.
A spokesman for the Japanese Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report. A Philippine military spokesman and Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Tokyo and Manila say they face increasing challenges from Beijing, including the Philippines’ South China Sea and Japan’s East China Sea.
Bilateral military cooperation includes joint exercises, Japan’s radar assistance program and high-level strategic dialogue. Last year, they signed a mutual visit agreement, the first such agreement in Asia and Japan, allowing troops to be deployed on each other’s soil.
To clear out military equipment export restrictions on destroyers stipulated by Japanese pacifists, Tokyo will regard the installation of equipment and communication systems required by Manila as a joint development project, Yomiuri said.
According to the Japanese Navy website, the escort of the Abukuma-class destroyer is a relatively small destroyer with a standard displacement of 2,000 tons, operated by a crew of about 120 people, and equipped with anti-marine and anti-fleet missiles, torpedo tubes and guns.
The Philippine Navy has no destroyers, only frigates and frigates, which are usually smaller and armed ships.
(Reports by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; other reports by Karen Lema in Manila and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Edited by William Mallard)
