Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a bilateral defense agreement to facilitate joint exercises for closer security cooperation, amid China's growing assertiveness in regional waters.Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement in Manila. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing following his meeting with Kamikawa and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara.Later in the day, the two nations aired "serious concern over the dangerous and escalatory actions by China" in the South C…READ FULL ARTICLE