Launchers for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Type 03 surface-to-air missile, left, and Type 12 surface-to-ship missile are displayed at Camp Ishigaki on Ishigaki Island, Sept. 17, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Japan is considering whether to sell surface-to-air missiles to the Philippines as Tokyo moves to loosen export restrictions and respond to rising security threats in the region, according to a local media report.
Informal discussions between the two U.S. allies have focused on Japan’s Type 03 medium-range missile, Kyodo News reported Monday, citing anonymous sources.
The system — also known as Chu-SAM — is deployed on Ishigaki Island at the far end of the Nansei chain, positioned to counter China’s growing military activity near Taiwan and in the East China Sea.
The potential sale comes as the Philippine shifts its military focus from counterinsurgency to external defense after a series of confrontations with China over disputed waters. Last month, the Philippine marine corps unveiled its new BrahMos anti-ship missile system, capable of launching from air, land, sea and underwater and carrying conventional warheads up to 660 pounds.
Manila purchased three BrahMos batteries from India for $320 million in 2022, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said the country plans to buy more. The Philippines has also expressed interest in acquiring the Type 03 missiles, which can intercept aircraft and cruise missiles, according to Kyodo.
Japanese troops fired the system in July alongside U.S., Australian, South Korean and Singaporean forces during the Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia.
Air defense systems are a strong candidate for export because they are clearly defensive, said James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple University’s Japan campus.
It would, however, be easier to first provide them to a country where they would be unlikely to be used against China, he told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.
Supplying the weapons to the Philippines would intensify tensions between Japan and China, Brown added.
Tensions have already climbed in recent weeks. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last month that a Chinese naval blockade or other moves against Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response, prompting sharp criticism from Beijing.
China considers democratic Taiwan — a former Japanese colony — its own territory and has vowed to reunify it with the mainland, by force if necessary.
“Given the economic harm that China can do to Japan, [Takaichi’s] aim will be to take heat out of the relationship, not add to it,” Brown said.
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has pledged to work on abolishing longstanding rules that limit defense exports to equipment related to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping.
But obstacles remain, Brown said.
“The first is that the restrictions on defense equipment transfers have yet to be changed,” he said. “The government can certainly do this, but, this being ‘pacifist’ Japan, it will cause pushback from opposition parties, as well as sections of the press and public.”
