Could Philippines-Japan air force exercise herald Tokyo’s closer involvement in Southeast Asia?

Name: Military plane crash kills 47, injures 49 others in the southern Philippines
Uploaded: 2021-07-08T10:44:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 21 s
Description: Military plane crash kills 47, injures 49 others in the southern Philippines

An analyst says such a prospect would have been ‘unthinkable’ two decades ago following Japan’s legacy of conquest and occupation in the region

But Manila and Tokyo say the exercise is a sign of deepening defence ties – as they face pressure from an increasingly assertive Beijing

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The Japanese and Philippines air forces during training. Photo: Embassy of Japan in the Philippines

Alan RoblesandRaissa Robles

Published: 6:44pm, 8 Jul 2021Updated: 11:14pm, 8 Jul 2021

A modest joint training exercise between the air forces of the Philippines and Japan could herald something considered unthinkable two decades ago, according to an analyst: closer Japanese involvement in Southeast Asia.

The four-day exercise that ended on Thursday saw teams from the Philippine Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) train for humanitarian and disaster relief operations at Clark Air Base north of Manila. Philippine Air Force spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Maynard Mariano told This Week in Asia the activity was originally meant to feature in-flight training, with a 10-man JASDF team and a Philippine crew each flying a C-130 Hercules transport plane.

But this plan was scrapped after the July 4 crash of a C-130, the Philippines’ worst military air disaster since World War II, saw the local authorities ground all such aircraft. The activity was then turned into a series of tabletop exercises, which involved ground training as well as discussions and planning for a simulated emergency scenario.

“There were definitely other experiences and knowledge that were shared beyond the table top … during breaks and informal exchanges,” Mariano said. “We are expecting that we can continue these exercises and exchanges with Japan, and not just Japan.” He added that the Philippine military had “a lot of exchanges with China”, such as sending officers there “for advancement in their education”. “We have a lot of officers who are graduates of Chinese academies and schools,” he said.

According to the Japanese embassy in Manila, the activity was the first-ever joint exercise between the two air forces and a “further sign of deepening defence ties between the two countries”.

“Japan reiterates the importance of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific which is inclusive and based on the rule of law, democratic values, territorial integrity, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disputes,” the embassy said in a press release.

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Military plane crash kills 47, injures 49 others in the southern Philippines

Philippine defence analyst Jose Antonio Custodio said “this was unthinkable 20 years ago, for the Japanese to be involved in the Philippines or in any other state in Asean [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations]”, due to its legacy of conquest and occupation in the region.