FILE PHOTO: A Philippine Air Force attack helicopter flies past a Philippine flag, after a bombing run at the Maute group positions in Marawi City, Philippines May 28, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's army will give thousands of helicopter parts to keep Philippine military choppers airborne, helping Tokyo gain clout with Manila in a contest with China to secure influence over the strategic South China Sea nation, four sources said.
Military diplomacy is a new means for Japan to confound China's bid for control in the bitterly contested South China Sea as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks a regional military role amid a retreat from decades of state pacifism.
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