Japan Hands Over Coastal Radars To Philippines

JAPAN and the Philippines formally marked the ceremonial handover of five Coastal Radar Systems under Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) FY 2023 during a ceremony held at Camp Aguinaldo. The ceremony was led by Secretary of National Defense (SND) Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya.

The milestone highlighted the deepening strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan, anchored on a shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability, and the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Funded under the OSA FY 2023 grant amounting to US$3.9 million, the Coastal Radar Systems will significantly enhance the Philippine Navy’s (PN) maritime domain awareness (MDA). The project includes radar units, surveillance and monitoring equipment, communications systems, and other support components designed to strengthen coastal monitoring and maritime security operations.

The integration of these systems is expected to expand surveillance coverage, improve early detection and tracking of surface contacts, and enhance coordination in maritime operations. The capability will support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), and other lawful security operations.

Secretary Teodoro expressed the Philippines’ appreciation for Japan’s steadfast and principled partnership. Saying, “I would like to thank the Government of Japan for the concrete contributions in widening and deepening our bilateral and multilateral ties, with the end in view of a free and open Indo-Pacific and maintaining regional peace and stability,” Secretary Teodoro said.

He also emphasised that the Philippines–Japan partnership is built on shared principles, mutual trust, and enduring values. “There is mutual trust and sincerity. Japan’s approach to its bilateral relations with the Philippines has been rooted in fundamental sincerity and values”.

“This occasion marks not only the transfer of critical equipment from Japan to the Philippines but also a meaningful milestone in the steadily deepening partnership between our two countries”, a Japanese statement read. “Peace and stability cannot be taken for granted. It must be actively and collectively sustained,” noting that the radar systems are “expected to significantly enhance the country’s MDA by improving the ability to monitor activities in the surrounding waters.”

Also present during the event were Department of Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Lea Victoria T. Carada, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff, Lieutenant General Rommel P Roldan, and acting PN Flag Officer-in-Command (FOIC) and vice commander, Major General Edwin E Amadar.

The OSA programme established in 2023 is a cooperation framework to provide equipment and supplies as well as assistance for infrastructure development, for the benefit of the armed forces and related organisations of like-minded countries, based on Japan’s National Security Strategy.

Japan has provided non-lethal equipment to partner countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Fiji. The Philippines has been the only country to receive OSA for three consecutive years, underscoring the high level of trust and strategic significance Japan places on the partnership.