Manila [Philippines], November 23 [ANI]: Navies of the Philippines and Japan are accelerating security cooperation amid Beijing's growing assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea and wider Indo-Pacific, according to Manila's state media.

Commander of the Philippine Fleet, Rear Adm. Joe Anthony Orbe led a delegation to Japan this week for a string of high-level engagements with the Japan Self-Defence Fleet (JSDF) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), the Philippines News Agency reported on Sunday.

The delegation toured JS Kumano, one of Japan's next-generation frigates.

The visit, according to the report in PNA 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 manoeuvres in and around the South China Sea, which is also referred to the West Philippine Sea by Manila.

Japan and the Philippines conducted their first military drill in October 2025 as part of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a key defence pact which was signed in July 2024 and came into effect in September 2025. The pact allows Tokyo and Manila to deploy forces on each other's soil.

The RAA was employed for the first time in October 2025 for drills between the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and the Philippine Air Force.

Japan is looking to export naval warships to the Philippines. The Maritime Self-Defence Force Abukuma-class destroyer escorts are currently in service with the Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force.

Meanwhile, the Philippines, Japan and the US held joint exercises in the South China Sea on November 14 and 15, under the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA).

Philippine Navy ships engaged in anti-submarine warfare during the drills, an official told the PNA news outlet.

While the Philippines Armed forces deployed its two missile-capable frigates, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), along with an AW-159 Wildcat helicopter, the US INDO-PACOM deployed the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). The Japanese force fielded JS Akebono (DD-108) and the SH-60K Seahawk.

The Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Cape San Agustin supported the mission, enhancing maritime domain awareness in the WPS.

Beijing said the drills 'undermined peace and stability in the region.'

The drills came amidst tensions between Japan and China after Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could respond in self-defence in case China attacks Taiwan.

China hit back by halting Japanese seafood imports and advising its citizens against traveling to Japan. (ANI)