Japan, Philippines hold joint anti-piracy drills off Manila
Philippine and Japanese coastguard teams staged an anti-piracy drill yesterday, featuring the storming of a cargo vessel after a mock hijack, in a show of maritime cooperation between the two nations amid rising tension in Asian waters.
Philippine and Japanese coastguard teams staged an anti-piracy drill yesterday, featuring the storming of a cargo vessel after a mock hijack, in a show of maritime cooperation between the two nations amid rising tension in Asian waters.
Both nations face a challenge from China's growing assertiveness over territorial claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, where it uses coast guard and fishing vessels to press into disputed areas.
Yesterday's drill was the first held by Japan and the Philippines after they signed a strategic partnership pact in 2012.
The rare maritime law enforcement exercises in Manila Bay were watched by the coastguard chiefs of 17 Asian nations, including China, who are meeting to find ways to cooperate in boosting safety and battling piracy and transnational crime.
"This exercise is for mutual interest, such as pirates and illegal trafficking, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking," he said, adding that Japan was ready to help Southeast Asian nations in such cases. China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims.