Japan, Philippines aim to fast-track transfer of navy destroyers

MANILA – Japan’s defence minister pledged to deepen military cooperation with the Philippines during a visit on May 5 to Manila, aiming for the “early transfer” of Abukuma-class destroyers to the archipelago nation. The two countries’ shared grievances over Chinese territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years, including the signing of a reciprocal access agreement allowing for the deployment of troops on each other’s territory. Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s visit came as a contingent of 1,400 Japanese personnel was participating for the first time in annual US-Philippine military exercises, and just weeks after Tokyo eased decades-old…