The Philippines and Japan pledged to enhance their defense alliance through training exercises, logistical activities, equipment transfers and intelligence sharing on Monday amid China’s assertive moves in the South China Sea.

Japan and its allied Philippines agreed to a "strategic dialogue" as a means to bolster defense tech and equipment cooperation, both nations announced Monday.

Japan and the Philippines have agreed to further deepen their defense collaborations and start talks on an arrangement to protect shared military information in the face of mutual alarm over China’s increasing aggressive actions in the region.

Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen defence ties in the face of an "increasingly severe" security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday.

Manila is shoring up military partnerships with other nations as it seeks to counter Beijing in a South China Sea dispute.

The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.

The two ministers tackled regional security issues, including the maritime situation in the East and South China Seas

Philippine defence minister Gilberto Teodoro said he would discuss China's attempts to change the international order during a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Manila on Monday. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores;

An increasingly complex security environment means Japan and the Philippines need to further enhance their defence cooperation, Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday ahead of a bilateral meeting in Manila.