Japan’s destroyer export to Philippine Navy will show how far it’s ready to flex muscles in region
By: Rodney Jaleco | Published: July 15, 2025
Reading Time: 4 minutes
WASHINGTON D.C. – Japan and the Philippines are reportedly in talks to export six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, a deal that could define the future of Japan’s military resurgence and its impact on regional security.
First reported in the Japanese press, the news was largely welcomed in both Washington and Manila as the United States struggles to keep its eyes on Chinese ambitions across the Taiwan Strait while having to wrestle with Iran’s nuclear aspirations and Russia’s relentless predations against Ukraine.
The Philippines and Japan signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in July 2024, paving the way for Japan to deploy forces in the Philippines, ostensibly for joint training and “war games” but actually opens a new theater for them to engage China away from the East China Sea. The pact also expands equipment transfers, hitherto limited to radars and surveillance aircraft, to larger assets like 2,000-ton destroyers.
The Philippine Navy is sending a team to Japan next month to inspect the ships, slated to be mothballed by 2027 and replaced by the newer Mogami-class frigate. The Abukumas were Japan’s first ever warships with stealth technology.
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Japan has been bound by a pacifist constitution since the end of World War II, profoundly influenced by her tragic status as the only nation to suffer nuclear devastation. But the threat from a suddenly aggressive China has forced Tokyo to re-evaluate its posture and in 2015, allowed the military to “engage in collective defense for the first time.” In 2022, it crafted a National Security Strategy that called for, among others, a defense build-up and focus on “alliance projection into the Indo-Pacific”.
At the same time, the Philippines is amid a multi-year military modernization program that emphasizes the acquisition of new warships and aircraft. On paper, the Philippine Navy appears formidable with more than 60 active combat vessels but about 70 percent of them are composed of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), mostly 78-foot fast patrol crafts originally designed for the US Coast Guard (USCG) and acquired as part of US military aid.
Growing threats from China in the Spratlys and Philippine’s 200 mile-Exclusive Economic Zone highlighted the weakness and vulnerabilities of the country’s navy. The US tried to patch the void by turning over retired USCG Hamilton-class cutters, buying time for the Philippine Navy to procure new warships – the 3,200-ton Malvar-class and smaller 2,600 Rizal-class guided missile frigates built by South Korea and a flotilla of 100-foot Acero-class fast missile boats from Israel.
The Philippines is trying to accelerate modernization, including the acquisition of its first-ever submarine, but it must also contend with political realities and equally urgent development needs. Cost and the acute domestic competition for limited funds remain major impediments.
The Abukuma-class destroyer has a displacement of 2,000 tons and a top speed of 27 knots. They’re armed with a 76mm Otobreda gun, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, ASRCOC anti-submarine missiles, and a close-in 20mm Phalanx. Much of those will likely stay behind in Japan if and when the ships are turned over to the Philippine Navy.
Japan established the Official Security Assistance (OSA) program in 2023 as the vehicle for foreign military aid to regional allies like the Philippines, and governed by an overarching “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology” (i.e., rule of law, humanitarian operations, and international peace cooperation) stipulating, among others, that this assistance is “not directly associated with international conflicts”.
The destroyer export could be an opportunity for Japan to clarify and define how exactly it wants to flex its military muscles in the region. “Expectations are high for the success of OSA both in Japan and overseas,” wrote Ippeita Nishida of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
If the deal pushes through, it will be the most significant Japanese foreign military aid package yet.
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