Japan and Philippines Deepen Defence Cooperation

Our Bureau - : Mar 15, 2023 - : 1:01 am

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Japan and the Philippines are working towards facilitation of greater cooperation between the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) and Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP). At the Japan-Philippines Defence Ministers’ Meeting in February, both sides entered into the “Terms of Reference (TOR) between the Ministry of Defence of Japan and the Department of National Defence of the Republic of the Philippines concerning the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Activities of the Japan Self-Defence Forces in the Republic of the Philippines.”

The nations are working together to strengthen bilateral cooperation in security and to facilitate joint exercises between JSDF and AFP. The Philippine Government and Government of Japan have also entered into a ‘Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology’ agreement which was signed in 2016. Trilateral defense cooperation between Japan, the Philippines, and the U.S. is also to be enhanced.

The Philippines had announced a Government-to-Government procurement with Japan for air surveillance radars in August 2020. At the recent meeting in February, Japan’s Ministry of Defence (Japan MOD) confirmed that the transfer process of radar systems signed in 2020 was proceeding steadily. Deliveries originally commenced to the Philippines in 2022. In October 2022, the Japan MOD announce that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation was supplying four air surveillance radar systems to the Philippines. The first fixed radar system and its pre-delivery inspection was completed by the (PAF) in Japan in September 2022. It stated that the Japan Air Self-Defence Force had begun accepting PAF students for training in October.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is acquiring the radars from Japan under its Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) Acquisition Project. The air surveillance radars are being supplied by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation as part of the contract value at US$103 million. The ASRS package includes three fixed long-range air surveillance radars, each with building facilities and one mobile air surveillance radar. The planned ASRS sites will cover
large areas of the Philippine Rise, Southern Areas of the country, and the Southern portion of the West Philippine Sea and allow the Philippine Air Force to provide optimal airspace monitoring, aircraft control, perform its air defence mission and enhance the security in Areas of Interest identified by the DND.

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