Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will visit the Philippines this week to boost security cooperation, including an intelligence-sharing agreement expected to sharpen regional surveillance of Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
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Analysts said China would be wary of the strategic implications of such a deal and the risks of a stronger US-Japan-Philippines security alignment creating a confrontational bloc near its borders.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) will be a key item on Ishiba’s agenda when he arrives in Manila for a two-day visit on Tuesday. The agreement is designed to allow protected and expanded exchanges of classified military information and defence technologies between the two US treaty allies.
The Philippines and the United States signed their own GSOMIA in November.
Ding Duo, an associate research fellow at China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said the military information-sharing frameworks would allow the three countries to track China’s activities and deployments in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait “more promptly and comprehensively”.
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“The strength of such a sharing network lies in the combination of Japan’s advanced maritime and aerial reconnaissance capabilities with the Philippines’ geographical advantage,” Ding said.