MANILA, Philippines — Japan signed an agreement to supply defense equipment to the Philippines.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the agreement he signed with the Japanese Ambassador to Manila, Kazuhide Ishikawa, provides a framework for the supply of defense equipment and technology and will allow the Asian countries to carry out joint research and development projects.
Neither side mentioned China’s increasingly assertive behavior in disputed areas but that has been a major security concern for both countries, which are close American allies.
The Philippines has turned to the United States, and now Japan, as it scrambles to modernize its ill-equipped military after territorial disputes with China began escalating four years ago.
Japan has a separate territorial spat with China that has flared on and off in the East China Sea.
Japan and the Philippines have openly brought their security and political ties to new levels, including by holding joint naval search and rescue drills last year.
President Aquino and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have swapped visits and vowed to intensify defense cooperation, sparking talks about a possible security pact that will allow Japanese forces to hold larger drills with Filipino troops in the Philippines. The Philippines has signed such visiting forces accords with the United States and Australia.