MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — A Japanese submarine and two escort warships made a port visit to the Philippines on Sunday (April 3) in a show of growing military ties between the two nations.
Officials from the Philippine navy welcomed the Japanese training submarine JS Oyashio, along with the destroyer class ships JS Ariake and JS Setogiri.
It was the first visit of a Japanese submarine to the Philippines in 15 years.
“This is just an exercise and the main objective is to train the officers, so we don’t have any messages to any countries,” Japan Maritme Self Defense Force captain Hiroaki Yoshino told journalists when asked about China’s growing reclamation work and transfer of military equipment on disputed islands in the south China Sea and Japan’s possible military assistance to the Philippines.
“The question just now — should Japan start planning more exercises, and by ‘exercise’ we mean expanded training — with regard to this, there is a new law which has been enacted and in light of this we need to think what is the best thing to do. We need to think about this not just based on Japan’s own domestic issues, but we also need to take in the opinions of the countries in Asia through proper discussion and start thinking of what is best, this is what we must do,” he added.
The port visit comes amid growing tensions in the South China Sea, a major thoroughfare for global trade worth up to $5 trillion a year.
China, who claims more than 90 percent of the sea, has been expanding its influence in the region by building bases on reclaimed islands. It also has separate claims in the East China Sea.
Japan has already offered to supply the Philippines with aircraft that will help bolster patrols over the disputed sea. Japan wants to give the Philippines a handful of Beechcraft TC-90 King Air training planes that could be fitted with basic surface and air surveillance radar.
