Japan's defense minister pledges to deepen military cooperation with the Philippines during a visit to Manila, aiming for the 'early transfer' of Abukuma-class destroyers to the archipelago. Shinjiro Koizumi's visit comes as a contingent of 1,400 Japanese personnel participated for the first time in the annual US-Philippine military exercises, and just weeks after Tokyo eased decades-old arms export rules in a major policy shift.