PH, Japan navies deepen security ties in Tokyo meet
Philippine News Agency
By Darryl John Esguerra
November 23, 2025, 12:18 pm
MANILA -- The Philippine Fleet is tightening its naval embrace with Japan as both countries accelerate security cooperation amid Beijing's growing assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea and wider Indo-Pacific.
Rear Adm. Joe Anthony Orbe, commander of the Philippine Fleet, led a delegation to Japan this week for a string of high-level engagements with the Japan Self-Defense Fleet (JSDF) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) — a visit that comes as Manila scrambles to broaden its strategic partnerships.
On Nov. 20, Orbe met JSDF Commander Vice Adm. Katsushi Omachi in Yokosuka where both sides acknowledged the "growing frequency" of joint activities, from maritime patrols to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) drills, a trajectory supercharged by the newly signed Philippines-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).
The pact will allow faster interoperability through shared exercises, logistics and troop access.
The delegation also toured JS Kumano, one of Japan's next-generation frigates, as Tokyo continues expanding its defense role in the region amid rising Chinese pressure on regional sea lanes.
The following day, Orbe paid a courtesy call on JMSDF Chief of Staff Adm. Akira Saito in Tokyo.
Saito welcomed Manila's growing openness to deeper security ties, stressing the importance of "working closer together" to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The visit underscores the Philippine Fleet's accelerating pivot toward like-minded security partners as Manila faces increasingly hostile encounters inside its own exclusive economic zone, from water-cannon attacks to dangerous Chinese maneuvers in and around West Philippine Sea. (With Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
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