In addition to the Philippines' infringement and provocation in the South China Sea, Japan has also sought closer military cooperation with the Philippines, and some reports have pointed out that the Japanese and Philippine maritime forces hope to establish a "sister force" mechanism, that is, the maritime forces of the two sides want to have more exchanges and cooperation, and even engage in so-called joint patrols or joint exercises. Interestingly, at this time, the yen was depreciating in the foreign exchange market, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force announced its foreign exchange plan, which could not help but remind people of Japan's "gambling on national fortunes" during World War II.
However, as far as the Philippines is concerned, although the scope of training exchanges and the "sister force" mechanism given by the Japanese side will certainly not be very large, it is enough to be regarded as a "big gift", and the Philippine side can take this opportunity as a stepping stone to further deepen cooperation with the Japanese side and strengthen its maritime strength, especially in the direction of muddying the waters in the South China Sea, and initiating more infringements as appropriate.
According to a CCTV News report on July 2, in the New York foreign exchange market on the 1st Eastern time, the yen exchange rate against the US dollar once fell to 161.72 yen per US dollar, the lowest level since December 1986. The Japanese government really has no choice, from April to early May this year, the Bank of Japan has spent huge sums of money several times to save the market and maintain the yen exchange rate, but it is still a drop in the bucket, the United States is going to harvest Japan with an iron heart, no matter how Fumio Kishida wants to refuse and welcome, it is useless, he is afraid of his own economic and financial collapse, and he is afraid that the American father will be unhappy, this is really a dilemma.
However, the Kishida government has experienced a sharp depreciation of the yen exchange rate, and it seems to be a little "stunned", and it actually wants to engage in a so-called "sister force" with the Philippines. According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun on July 1, the Self-Defense Fleet Command of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is studying a mechanism for establishing a "sister force" with the Philippine Navy. According to the report, the move is aimed at deepening exchanges between the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Philippine Navy in an attempt to contain the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea to "change the status quo through strength."
This makes one wonder if it was possessed by Japan's naval gamblers during World War II. You must know that once the yen collapses, the Japanese economy will fall into the abyss of disaster, and it is not impossible to have another "lost 20 years". On the one hand, Japan is acting as a "mad dog" on the South China Sea issue in accordance with the will of the United States, making things difficult for China with the Philippines, and sharing the pressure of the United States on the Russia-Ukraine, Palestinian-Israeli and Red Sea issues. On the other hand, it is also to prepare for potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and even the East China Sea; if a war breaks out in an all-round way, it will inevitably be a reshuffle of the East Asian and even international patterns, and Japan will have to gamble on its national fortunes and "stud."
It has been learned that Satoshi Saito, commander of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces fleet, said on 1 July that the Philippine side made the proposal on 10 May when he attended the meeting of commanders of the fleets of Japan, the United States, Australia, and the ROK as an observer. It can be seen that this is still a proposal put forward by the Philippines on its own initiative to throw out an "olive branch", but everyone knows that in recent years, in order to jointly deal with China, Japan-Philippines cooperation has become more and more unscrupulous.
The establishment of the "sister force" mechanism is also an important step since the signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Japan and the Philippines. It is important to know that the RAA provides a procedural basis and great convenience for Japan to carry out joint military operations and logistical cooperation with other countries, and not only provides an opportunity for the Philippines to win over countries outside the region and escalate the situation in the South China Sea, but also allows Japan to bypass the domestic cumbersome procedures and constraints faced by the Self-Defense Forces when they go overseas to carry out missions, and it is also an important action for Japan to override and undermine the pacifist constitution.
Of course, Japan has not only made this move recently, but has already made many moves since it seeks to further its military cooperation with the Philippines in order to contain and contain China.
The first action is that Japan intends to help the Philippines build a 5G network to "counter Chinese technology". According to the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on June 27, the Japanese government is planning to build a 5G communication network in the Philippines, and after the summer, it will begin to install base stations and other facilities to provide open radio access network (Open RAN) technology, which can be put into use within a few years, and the Japanese government also hopes to expand this initiative to other countries in the "Indo-Pacific region" to "counter Chinese technology". Of course, the Philippines will not refuse this, and can even benefit itself by lowering the offer of Japanese companies to help build in the midst of multi-party competition.
Second, it has successively provided the Philippines with various types of military equipment. According to a report on the news website of the US Naval Institute on June 30, Japan's Self-Defense Forces have planned to deploy a mobile radar system on Kitato Island in the Philippine Sea, and handed over a batch of coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines last year, and also provided the Philippines with a low-interest loan in May this year for the purchase of five large patrol boats. There is no doubt that both for radar and for coast guard vessels, which is what helps the Philippines in the South China Sea dispute.
Third, on April 7 this year, the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines held their first joint military exercise off the coast northwest of Palawan. Although the scale of the exercise was not large, with only five warships from the four countries participating, the Sparrow was small and comprehensive, and the types of ships included frigates, destroyers, patrol ships, and littoral combat ships, and they not only carried out the formation navigation run-in between fleets, but also carried out the "anti-submarine warfare" exercise, which was also the official exercise of the four countries, and this also indicated that the specifications of the US-Japan-Australia-Philippines exercise had been upgraded.
The United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines are colluding more and more, and joint patrols and military exercises will not be limited to this, as well as various meetings, consultation mechanisms, and agreement signing, and Japan and the Philippines want to use the shadow of the United States to engage in an "anti-China chorus." Japan, in particular, wants to take this opportunity to demand that the United States gradually "loosen its military restraints" on itself, and the wolf's ambitions are clearly exposed, and the Philippines actually aids and abuses this, and the South China Sea is not peaceful again.