Japan may soon supply Philippines with surveillance and 'sub-hunting' aircraft to spy on Chinese assets in disputed South China Sea

The Japanese and Philippine leaders will agree this week on a deal paving the way for Tokyo to supply Manila with used military equipment, possibly including aircraft that could be deployed to patrol the disputed South China Sea, sources said.

The deal will mark the first time Japan has agreed to directly donate military equipment to another country, the latest example of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s more muscular security agenda.

The agreement in principle will be announced after Abe and President Benigno Aquino meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Manila, said three sources in Tokyo.

It will commit Tokyo and Manila to discuss the type and scale of Japanese military aid, added the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

The Philippines is the Southeast Asian country most at odds with Beijing over the South China Sea. Tokyo has no claims in the waterway but is worried about China’s growing military reach into sea lanes through which much of Japan’s ship-borne trade passes.

“Apec is an opportunity for us to show how far our cooperation has come,” one source said.