Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will make an official visit to the Philippines in November as Tokyo is expanding its relations with Manila that were already bolstered during President Marcos’ trip there early this year.
Kishida will be in the country from November 3 to 4—nine months after he and Marcos also met in Japan for the latter’s official visit.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) made the announcement Tuesday, Oct. 31, as it said the two leaders “will hold a bilateral meeting to discuss areas of mutual concern such as political, security, economic and development cooperation, as well as people-to-people ties.”
Marcos and Kishida are also expected to share views on regional and international issues and further work on the relations between the two countries, which were elevated into a strategic partnership in 2011.
Interactions between Manila and Tokyo have been constant, with 2023 having started with Marcos’ trip to Japan that yielded around $13 billion investment pledges following a meeting with local business leaders.
During Marcos’ visit to Japan, he sat down with Kishida and had an Imperial Audience with Their Majesties The Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.
Japan has also been vocal of its support for the Philippines’ fight for territorial sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea and would call out China for its aggression.
At the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, Marcos and Kishida, along with US Vice President Kamala Harris, discussed in person the ways to enhance the three countries’ trilateral maritime cooperation, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts
According to the Foreign Ministry of Japan, Marcos, Harris and Kishida concurred “to jointly tackle unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force.”
They also “reaffirmed the strength of trilateral economic cooperation and discussed opportunities to bolster economic resilience, promote broad-based and sustainable economic growth, and invest in strong and diversified supply chains,” according to the White House.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko described said the talk proved that the “solidarity among three countries is much stronger than before with shared objectives in promoting rule-based regional order.” — Joseph Pedrajas
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
