Japan will sign an accord with Philippines to supply military equipment 12602162

Defence & Security News - Japan
 
Japan will sign an accord with Philippines to supply military equipment.
Japan will sign an accord with the Philippines to allow Tokyo to supply military equipment to Philippines, the first such Japanese defense pact in the region. A senior Philippine security official said the new pact will pave the way for Japan to sell new military hardware, transfer defense technology, donate used military equipment or provide defense training to Filipino forces.
     
     
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told The Associated Press on Saturday that the agreement he’ll sign on Monday with the Japanese ambassador in Manila is not directed against any country but aims to address gaps in the underfunded Philippine military’s capabilities.

In April 2014 the Japanese government finally lifted its postwar ban on the export of defense products. Tokyo approved its first arms export this summer — the supply of PAC-2 missile parts to the U.S., which will then sell the completed Patriot missiles to Qatar.

The relaxation of Tokyo’s ban on arms exports has introduced Japan as a budding player in the international arms market. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has given the go-ahead for Japanese firms to compete internationally for arms contracts.

Japanese military equipment—particularly in the areas of missiles, ships, and armored vehicles —have always been technologically competitive with their Western counterparts. Despite that, Japan has for decades refused to sell any weapons or other military equipment.

Twelve companies from Japan participated for the first time in the international defense exhibition in June 2014 by exhibiting their latest innovations and technologis at the five-day Eurosatory defense fair in Paris, France.

Japanese exhibitors at Eurosatory 2014 were Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, which build planes, submarines and helicopters for the Japanese military, electronics giant NEC Corp, a major maker of military communications equipment, and industrial conglomerates Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp..