President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said Monday that he expects to discuss Japan’s new defense and security posture as well as its role in the field of energy in the region when he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during his state visit to Tokyo later this month.
Speaking to the Japanese media at the presidential palace, Marcos said that Japan’s support for the Philippine military, following the signing of agreements on reciprocal visits of each other’s troops and information sharing, “has been the new phase or new element” in the two countries’ relationship beyond the economic realm.
“Japan and the Philippines have experienced the same difficulties in terms of coercive acts, in terms of different gray zone, shall we say, tactics,” he said, referring to China’s assertion of its maritime and territorial claims in contested waters.
China has stepped up its activities in the South China Sea, where its claims overlap those of the Philippines, and around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China claims.
Marcos emphasized the importance of engaging Beijing in efforts to maintain regional peace, such as planned talks between the Philippine and Chinese foreign ministers “in less than a month’s time.”
He said that he also wants to discuss how Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can work together in times of energy crisis, such as oil supply disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict. The Philippines currently chairs the 11-member bloc.
The Philippine leader will embark on a four-day state visit to Japan from May 26 as the two countries mark this year the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
