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 have agreed to further deepen their defense collaborations and start talks on an arrangement to protect shared military information in the face of mutual alarm over China’s increasing aggressive actions in the region.

The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.