面對擔憂中國, 日本與菲律賓加強安全關係

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Japan, Philippines to step up security ties amid China worry

MARI YAMAGUCHI

Thu, April 7, 2022, 8:42 AM

TOKYO (AP) — The defense ministers of Japan and the Philippines agreed Thursday to bolster security cooperation and expand joint drills between their forces as they shared concerns about China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the region.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and his Philippine counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana, also shared concern about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact in the Indo-Pacific, and noted that any attempts to change the status quo by force is unacceptable, Japan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that avoided identifying China by name.

Japan has significantly expanded joint drills with the United States and other partners, including Australia, India, France, Britain and Germany, that share its concerns about China’s assertion of its territorial claims in the region, which has some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu.

On Thursday, Japan's Defense Ministry said it spotted a Chinese Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft flying over the Sakishima islands, although it did not violate Japanese airspace.

Kishi and Lorenzana also agreed to increase cooperation in defense equipment and technology transfer between the two countries. Tokyo and Manila agreed in 2020 on the Japanese export of air radar systems to the Philippine military.

For Japan, the Philippines is geopolitically important as China increases its influence in the region.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have been locked in an increasingly tense territorial standoff in the busy waterway for decades.

The defense ministers will be joined by foreign ministers from each country on Saturday for the first “two plus two” security talks between the two countries.

Translation

東京（美聯社）- 日本和菲律賓國防部長周四同意加強安全合作並擴大雙方部隊之間的聯合演習，因為他們對中國在該地區日益強硬的軍事行動表示擔憂。

日本防衛大臣岸信夫和菲律賓防長 Delfin Lorenzana 也對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭及其對印太地區的影響表示擔憂，日本防衛大臣在一份避免點名中國的聲明指出, 任何以武力改變現狀的企圖都是不可接受的。

日本大幅擴大了與美國和包括澳大利亞、印度、法國、英國和德國在內的其他夥伴的聯合演習，這些夥伴與中國在該地區主張其領土主張一樣感到擔憂，該地區擁有世界上最繁忙的一些海上航道。

日本特別關注中國在日本控制的尖閣諸島附近東海的軍事和海岸警衛隊活動，中國也聲稱擁有尖閣諸島並稱它為釣魚島。

週四，日本防衛省表示，它發現了一架中國 Y-9 電子戰飛機飛越先島群島群島，儘管它沒有侵犯日本領空。

岸信夫和Lorenzana還同意加强两國在國防裝備和技術轉讓方面的合作。東京和馬尼拉於 2020 年同意日本向菲律賓軍方出口空中雷達系統。

對日本而言，隨著中國在該地區影響力的增強，菲律賓在地緣政治上具有重要意義。

幾十年來，中國、菲律賓、越南、台灣、馬來西亞和文萊,在對繁忙的航道涉及的領土擁有,陷入了日益緊張對峙。

週六，兩國國防部長將與該國外交部長一起參加兩國之間的首次“二加二”安全會談。

So,  Japan and the Philippines will bolster security cooperation and expand joint military drills as they share concerns about China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the region.