ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Japan, Philippines to Begin Military Intelligence Pact Talks

Japan, Philippines to Begin Military Intelligence Pact Talks

Published May 28, 2026 11:38 pm
Tokyo, May 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed Thursday that the two countries will kick off negotiations to conclude a general security of military information agreement, or GSOMIA, with the aim of strengthening bilateral security cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shake hands after attending a joint press conference following their meeting held at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Thursday. (Pool photo)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shake hands after attending a joint press conference following their meeting held at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Thursday. (Pool photo)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (far right), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (far left), Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo (second from right) and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano (second from left) attend a document signing ceremony held in line with a Takaichi-Marcos summit at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Thursday. (Pool photo)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (far right), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (far left), Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo (second from right) and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano (second from left) attend a document signing ceremony held in line with a Takaichi-Marcos summit at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Thursday. (Pool photo)
GSOMIA would allow the two countries to share their confidential information.
At a bilateral summit held at the State Guest House in Tokyo, Takaichi and Marcos also discussed China's increasing military coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea as well as the United States' shift toward nationalism under President Donald Trump.
The Japanese and Philippine leaders agreed to upgrade their countries' relationship to "the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership."
They confirmed that Japan and the Philippines will hold a two-plus-two meeting of their foreign and defense ministers at an early date and promote trilateral cooperation among the two nations and the United States.
In addition, Takaichi and Marcos agreed to accelerate talks between their countries' defense authorities for the transfer of Japanese defense equipment, such as the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Abukuma-class destroyers, to the Philippines.
Takaichi and Marcos also discussed difficulties in the procurement of oil and related products amid the ongoing Middle East tensions, agreeing to strengthen supply chains for medical and other products.
The Japanese prime minister announced support for the development of a fuel reserve system in the Philippines and the realization of joint reserves among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
At a joint press conference after the meeting, Takaichi said, "Cooperation with the Philippines is extremely important for realizing an evolved free and open Indo-Pacific."
Marcos stressed that the day's meeting marked an important step toward reinforcing defense cooperation and maintaining a rules-based maritime order.
In a joint statement adopted at the bilateral summit, the leaders, with China in mind, expressed "concerns over all forms of economic coercion and nonmarket policies and practices, as well as the export and import restrictions that could have a significant negative impact on global supply chains."
Takaichi and Marcos shared the view that Japan and the Philippines, as like-minded maritime democracies, have entered "a platinum era of relations," the statement also said, adding that the two countries are now among the closest of like-minded countries, "characterized by unprecedented levels of trust, cooperation and strategic alignment."
Marcos is the first Philippine president to visit Japan as a state guest since Benigno Aquino III in 2015.
On this occasion, Japan hopes to reinforce its ties with the Philippines, which currently holds ASEAN presidency. This year, the two countries mark 70 years since they normalized their diplomatic relations.

Related Tags

NATIONAL NEWS President Bongbong Sanae Takaichi Japan
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.