Philippines, Japan reaffirm South China Sea commitment

The Philippines and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on addressing 'destabilizing actions' in the South China Sea and East China Sea during a phone conversation between Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and his Japanese counterpart Okano Masataka on Monday, February 17.

Both officials emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and adherence to international law, as well as maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

They also agreed to continue trilateral security cooperation with the United States under President Trump's administration.

NSA Año congratulated NSA Okano on his new role during their conversation.

The two nations previously signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement last year, allowing military training exercises on each other’s territory.