The Philippines and Japan conducted the 9th Military-to-Military (MM) Dialogue on October 21 in Manila, three years after its last meeting.

The dialogue was co-chaired by Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs Henry Robinson, Jr. of the Department of National Defense (DND), and Director General for International Affairs Miura Jun of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Japan.

Both sides exchanged views on regional security challenges, discussed respective updates on defense policies, and reviewed the overall progress of Philippines-Japan defense cooperation.

On regional security challenges, Robinson shared the DND's perspective on the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea (SCS/WPS) while Muira shared security updates on the East China Sea (ECS) and Korean Peninsula. Both officials also touched on the security situation in the Euro Atlantic.

On Philippines-Japan defense relations, both sides discussed frameworks that would further enhance military cooperation between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The Philippine side also expressed appreciation for Japan's capability building assistance to the AFP.

The meeting ended with a commitment of both countries to further enhance bilateral defense relations. Defense Communications Service