Japan and its allied Philippines agreed to a "strategic dialogue" as a means to bolster defense tech and equipment cooperation, both nations announced Monday.

Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defense and security ties largely due to concerns over Chinese aggression in the region. Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila contributed to this report.

Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen defence ties in the face of an "increasingly severe" security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday.