PAOAY, Ilocos Norte, May 6, 2026 – Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., together with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi, witnessed today’s live fire exercise of Japan’s Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile System at Paoay Sand Dunes in Ilocos Norte.

Conducted as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026, the activity showcased the precision strike capabilities of Japan’s Type 88 missile system designed to defend coastal areas and deter maritime threats. The exercise also brought together troops from the United States, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines, highlighting strong multilateral cooperation in promoting regional security and stability.

The activity emphasized the growing strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan, particularly following the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which enhances the effectiveness in interoperability, joint training, and the presence of forces in each other’s territories.

“I’m very, very proud and happy that we were able to pull this off for the first time and it will only get larger in scope with more partners,” said Secretary Teodoro in his interview with the members of the media. “And I have to thank the President [Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.] for his steadfast leadership of making sure that our resilience efforts are going on unhampered, and his strong leadership has propelled us to converge and to interoperate and build deterrence for shared threats.”

Secretary Teodoro and Minister Koizumi met yesterday for their defense bilateral meeting in Manila, where they also signed the Statement on the Further Promotion of Defense Equipment and Technology Cooperation.