By Rappler
A left-leaning group of teachers (click here) has asked the Philippine Supreme Court to order the stop of training exercises between the Philippine and Japan militaries, saying the agreements on which these are based are unconstitutional. It argued that the joint exercises cannot be allowed without a treaty ratified by the Senate because it involves bringing in foreign troops into the country. This is an issue that Rappler raised in June as the Philippine and Japanese navies held historic drills off Palawan, near the area disputed by the Philippines and China. The Philippines currently has two treaty allies – United States and Australia – whose militaries conduct regular military exercises with their Filipino counterparts....
By Justin McCurry
Japan has announced (click here) its biggest ever defence budget in response to China’s increasing military influence in the region and Beijing’s claims to a group of disputed islands administered by Tokyo.
The 4.98 trillion yen (US$ 42bn) budget approved by the cabinet on Wednesday is up 2% from last year and marks the third straight increase after more than a decade of cuts.
The rise is in line with Japan’s more assertive defence policy under the conservative prime minister, Shinzo Abe, as he seeks to counter Chinese influence and remove the postwar legal shackles from his country’s military.
This year Abe is expected to push for legislation to reinterpret Japan’s constitution to allow Japanese troops to fight alongside allies on foreign soil for the first time since the end of the second world war. The move has been welcomed in Washington, which wants Japan to play a bigger role in the bilateral security alliance....
