Could Philippines-Japan air force exercise herald Tokyo's closer involvement in Southeast Asia?

A modest joint training exercise between the air forces of the Philippines and Japan could herald something considered unthinkable two decades ago, according to an analyst: closer Japanese involvement in Southeast Asia.

The four-day exercise that ended on Thursday saw teams from the Philippine Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) train for humanitarian and disaster relief operations at Clark Air Base north of Manila. Philippine Air Force spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Maynard Mariano told This Week in Asia the activity was originally meant to feature in-flight training, with a 10-man JASDF team and a Philippine crew each flying a C-130 Hercules transport plane.

But this plan was scrapped after the July 4 crash of a C-130, the Philippines' worst military air disaster since World War II, saw the local authorities ground all such aircraft. The activity was then turned into a series of tabletop exercises, which involved ground training as well as discussions and planning for a simulated emergency scenario.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"There were definitely other experiences and knowledge that were shared beyond the table top ... during breaks and informal exchanges," Mariano said. "We are expecting that we can continue these exercises and exchanges with Japan, and not just Japan." He added that the Philippine military had "a lot of exchanges with China", such as sending officers there "for advancement in their education". "We have a lot of officers who are graduates of Chinese academies and schools," he said.

According to the Japanese embassy in Manila, the activity was the first-ever joint exercise between the two air forces and a "further sign of deepening defence ties between the two countries".

"Japan reiterates the importance of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific which is inclusive and based on the rule of law, democratic values, territorial integrity, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disputes," the embassy said in a press release.

Philippine defence analyst Jose Antonio Custodio said "this was unthinkable 20 years ago, for the Japanese to be involved in the Philippines or in any other state in Asean [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations]", due to its legacy of conquest and occupation in the region.

The Philippines and Japan face pressure from an increasingly assertive China, which is using military resources to stake out its claims in the South China Sea.

Custodio, a security specialist and non-resident fellow of the Manila-based think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, said Tokyo now had to face "head on" the fact that Beijing's claims threatened Japan's vital sea routes.

"They have to protect their sea lanes of communication, so they have to engage the world now," he said, adding that Japan was not just working with the Philippine military, but providing a "full range of assistance" to Manila's maritime and security agencies.

"For Japan, it's all baby steps towards a much more active presence in the region," he said. "Start with donating aircraft and ships; [then] you establish people-to-people contact. The next thing you know, [the Philippines is] hosting forces that will get bigger and bigger."

Custodio said the goal of the Japanese was to operate "on the same tempo and level" in Southeast Asia as the United States. "But they have to deal with sensitivities around the region," he said.

During World War II, Japan launched a brutal campaign against US, British, Dutch and Australian forces in the region that saw it occupy Hong Kong and all of Southeast Asia, with the exception of Thailand.

Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in 1941, bombing Manila and several US military bases. When the American army surrendered in March 1942, Japan occupied the country until the end of the war three years later; according to some estimates, up to 500,000 Filipinos died over this period.

"The air force of Japan is coming to assist us [now, but] 80 years ago, it came to the Philippines to bomb us," Custodio said.

Clark Air Base, where the tabletop exercise was held, was not only bombed during the Japanese invasion - it was later the launching site for kamikaze suicide aircraft attacks against the US fleet.

Air Force spokesperson Mariano said of the exercise: "Isn't it wonderful that those who were once enemies are now talking to each other?"

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.