TOKYO (AP) — Japan said it will provide a coastal surveillance radar system and unmanned aircraft to the Philippines under a security deal signed Monday, as the two defense partners face growing tensions with China.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Katsuro Kitagawa and Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro signed the 4.3 billion yen ($27 million) deal at a ceremony in Manila, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Click to Gallery
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, meets Vietnam's President To Lam for bilateral talks at the Akasaka Palace state guesthouse in Tokyo, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, escorts Vietnam's President To Lam ahead of bilateral talks at the Akasaka Palace state guesthouse in Tokyo, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, receives Vietnam's President To Lam at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Vietnam's President To Lam, centre, looks on as documents are exchanged with his representative and Japan's representative during a ceremony at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Vietnam's President To Lam, left, hold a joint press conference at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
The radar system will go to the Philippine Navy and the uncrewed aerial vehicles to the Philippine Air Force. The equipment is intended to strengthen maritime security and surveillance in the strategically important country, which sits near key sea lanes, the ministry said.
The deal marks the first transfer of finished Japanese-made defense equipment through Japan’s Official Security Assistance program. Established in 2023 as a military counterpart to its official development assistance program, OSA aims to help developing nations address challenges posed by China’s growing influence.
Japan has been accelerating its military and arms industry buildup. It lifted a ban on lethal weapons exports earlier this year and has agreed with the Philippines to begin talks on a deal that would allow Tokyo to provide used destroyers to Manila’s navy.
Separately on Monday, the leaders of Japan and Vietnam held talks in Tokyo and pledged to deepen cooperation in defense, energy and economic security amid China’s growing regional influence.
At a news conference with Vietnamese President To Lam, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would accelerate its planned security assistance to Vietnam to support the country’s role in international peacekeeping. The two leaders also agreed to maintain and strengthen a rules-based, “free and open” Indo-Pacific.
They signed several cooperation agreements covering areas including nuclear energy, gas-fired power generation, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, Takaichi said.
China and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. Tensions have led to clashes between sailors and collisions between warships in recent years. Vietnam also has overlapping territorial claims with China in the South China Sea.
China has also stepped up military activity near Japan’s coasts, while Chinese coast guard ships maintain a constant presence in and around Japanese-controlled, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that Beijing also claims its ownership.
Associated Press video journalist Hau Dinh in Hanoi, Vietnam, contributed to this report.
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, meets Vietnam's President To Lam for bilateral talks at the Akasaka Palace state guesthouse in Tokyo, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, escorts Vietnam's President To Lam ahead of bilateral talks at the Akasaka Palace state guesthouse in Tokyo, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, receives Vietnam's President To Lam at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Vietnam's President To Lam, centre, looks on as documents are exchanged with his representative and Japan's representative during a ceremony at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Vietnam's President To Lam, left, hold a joint press conference at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Monday Nov. 9, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Everything will be so familiar to Rory McIlroy: the course, the stakes, the pressure.
For Eugenio Chacarra, it’s all new territory.
The 2026 golf season on the European tour reaches its climax this week with a traditional trip to the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai for the 50 leading players on the points list.
So much is still up for grabs: a $3 million check for winning the year-end tournament; the season-long Race to Dubai title; and, for 10 players, a career-changing ticket to the PGA Tour.
Most excitement surrounds the fight to be crowned the year’s No. 1 player on the European tour, a contest — once called the Order of Merit but now labeled the Race to Dubai — that McIlroy has dominated for the past 15 years.
He is involved again this season, with McIlroy sitting second in the standings behind Chacarra and knowing a fourth career victory at the World Tour Championship will see him win the season-long prize for an eighth time, tying the record with Colin Montgomerie. McIlroy has won it the last four years, too.
Chacarra, a 26-year-old Spaniard in his first full season on the tour, leads McIlroy by nearly 534 points. American player Patrick Reed is third, a further 181 points back and the last of the top title contenders.
Some 2,000 points are on offer for the winner at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with 1,335 for second place, 752 for third place, 600 for fourth, and 509 for fifth.
The only way for Chacarra to guarantee finishing in first place is to win. For the Spaniard, it seems to be a direct fight between him and McIlroy.
“He’s the No. 2 player in the world and the No. 1 in Europe,” Chacarra said of the most recent player to complete the career Grand Slam in golf. “And he’s been doing it for a long time and he plays really good out in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. He has played that course a million times, and I only played it once.
“Obviously,” said Chacarra, a three-time title winner this season, “the odds are on him and he’s the favorite. But we’ll play golf. We know what I’m capable of when I am playing good.”
Finishing third at the Abu Dhabi Championship last week lifted McIlroy above Reed in the Race to Dubai standings and means he'll be with Chacarra in the final pairing setting out in Thursday's first round.
“That’s where I wanted to be,” McIlroy said. “It’s a pretty familiar spot for me going into the DP World Tour Championship and I’m excited for it.”
Reed's two wins this season came at the Dubai Desert Classic in January and the Qatar Masters in February. His form has dipped in recent weeks since an injury-prompted withdrawal midway through the BMW PGA Championship in September, with his last three results being a missed cut in Spain, a T23 in India, and a T43 out of 70 players in Abu Dhabi last week.
Some players below the top three have a slim chance of winning the Race to Dubai, but they need to win and for Chacarra and McIlroy to finish way down the leaderboard.
One of them is Rahm, whose victory in Abu Dhabi on Sunday lifted him to sixth place — around 1,700 points behind Chacarra.
“Actually gives me a little extra incentive,” Rahm said. “I really didn’t think I was going to have a chance.”
Whatever happens this week, Chacarra and Reed have secured one of the 10 places on next season's PGA Tour available to European tour members who are not otherwise exempt.
Making up the current 10 are Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, Daniel Hillier, Jakob Skov Olesen, Bernd Wiesberger, Andy Sullivan, Oliver Lindell and Joe Dean.
Lindell and Dean, Nos. 9 and 10 in the non-exempt list, are most vulnerable heading to Dubai.
By the end of the week, the PGA Tour is like to have four ex-LIV Golf players with cards.
Brooks Koepka was the first after he got out of his LIV contract last December and the PGA Tour created a path back with financial penalties. Chacarra, Reed and Wiesberger would be next through the Race to Dubai standings.
Players typically are banned by the PGA Tour for one year dating to their last LIV appearance. Reed chose in January not to renew his LIV deal. He actually was eligible to return to the PGA Tour for the FedEx Cup Fall, but chose to chase the European tour points list.
Chacarra signed out of Oklahoma State as the No. 2 amateur in the world. He left after his contract expired in 2024. Earlier this year, he was the first LIV player to receive a PGA Tour sponsor exemption, to the Puerto Rico Open.
Wiesberger, who played on the 2021 Ryder Cup team, played only two seasons at LIV. The Austrian returned to the European tour in 2024.
See AP’s full golf coverage here
Patrick Reed of the United States hits off the first tee during the first round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Eugenio Chacarra of Spain hits off the first tee during the first round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the seventh hole during the final round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
