Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. embarked Wednesday on a four-day working go to to Japan to spice up funding and protection ties, days after his authorities agreed to present U.S. forces better entry to army bases amid Chinese language threats to Taiwan.
Throughout his first presidential journey to Tokyo, the Philippine chief will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose nation can also be engaged in a maritime territorial dispute with China – in Japan’s case, over the Senkaku Islands within the East China Sea. The go to is anticipated to generate billions value of funding pledges from Tokyo to Manila.
Marcos mentioned he and Kishida would work to “deepen cooperation” in a variety of areas, together with humanitarian help and catastrophe reduction, a transfer that may quickly enable Japanese troops to be deployed within the Philippines.
“My bilateral visit to Japan is essential,” Marcos mentioned in a press release as he departed from Manila on Wednesday.
“It is part of a larger foreign policy agenda to forge closer political ties, stronger defense and security cooperation, as well as lasting economic partnerships with major counties in the region amid a challenging global environment.”
The Philippine Division of Overseas Affairs mentioned it anticipated Marcos’ journey, which matches till Feb. 12, to clinch 150 billion Philippine pesos (U.S. $2.7 billion) in funding offers that might create 8,000 jobs.
Marcos can even witness the signing of a minimum of seven key agreements specializing in infrastructure growth, protection, agriculture and data and communications know-how.
“The official working visit is expected to reaffirm the strong and vibrant relations between the two countries. It also seeks to maximize the full potential of the Philippines-Japan strategic partnership in all its aspects and facilitate closer defense, security, political, economic and people-to-people ties,” Neal Imperial, the division’s assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs, informed reporters.
“Japan has been a very important partner in providing assistance in relation to disasters,” Imperial mentioned.
In response to Chester Cabalza, a political science professor on the College of the Philippines, Marcos’ journey is strategic as a result of Japan and the Philippines, given the situation of their islands, would bear the brunt of any spillover struggle if China attacked Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a Chinese language province.
“The trip is valuable to increase multilateral efforts and dialogue with strategic partners since Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan are part of the first island chain that will experience war shocks and immediate casualties of attack in case the forcible Taiwan retake happens,” mentioned Cabalza, who heads the Worldwide Improvement and Safety Cooperation, a Manila think-tank.
Japan may additionally assist mobilize forces to evacuate Filipino and Taiwanese refugees in northern Luzon in expanded websites that fall beneath an Enhanced Protection Cooperation Settlement between Manila and america. Final week, beneath its EDCA settlement with the UnitedStates, the Philippines agreed to grant the U.S. army expanded entry to army bases within the Southeast Asian nation, which is strategically situated within the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
Manila, one of many claimant states within the South China Sea, has its personal territorial dispute with Beijing within the waterway, though Marcos, since taking workplace in June, has pursued heat ties with each China and america, rival superpowers.
“Japan has a world war experience that the Philippines can learn from in case war erupts. The reliable neighbor has aligned regional interests and our military capabilities are complimentary,” Cabalza informed BenarNews.
Tokyo has additionally been “sympathetic” to the Philippines’ army modernization program and despatched observers to affix U.S.-Philippine military exercises final 12 months, he famous.
“Japan has also been helping in the modernization of the Philippines Coast Guard as the first line of defense in the maritime boundaries and domains,” Cabalza added.
Throughout a go to to the Philippines final 12 months, Tsuyohito Iwamoto, the Japanese vice minister for protection, renewed Tokyo’s dedication to serving to the Philippines modernize its army.
Over the previous a number of years, Japan has donated coach plane, spare elements for Huey helicopters and search-and-rescue tools to the Filipino armed forces. Japan was additionally concerned within the Air Surveillance Radar System Acquisition Undertaking beneath the army’s 5.5 billion peso ($98 million) modernization program.
Ramon Beleno III, head of the political science and historical past division at Ateneo De Davao College in southern Davao Metropolis, mentioned Marcos’ journey would even be essential in serving to revive a Philippine financial system nonetheless struggling from a worldwide slowdown as a result of COVID-19.
“When former President Fidel Ramos took over the country from his predecessor, Cory Aquino, [his] foreign travels helped the country’s economy recover,” Beleno mentioned.
“The pledges coming from other countries where Marcos visited are not automatic and will turn into money. There are procedures for that,” he added.
Whereas in Japan, Marcos’ workplace mentioned his crew would work on additional strengthening “the bonds of friendship with a close neighbor, like-minded and future-oriented like us in many ways, and a most reliable partner in times of both crises and prosperity.”
The assembly with Kishida is to “take stock of our bilateral relations and regional cooperation in a broad range of engagements,” from safety and financial relations to Manila and Tokyo’s continued dedication to mutual peace and prosperity.
Japan is the primary nation that signed a bilateral free commerce settlement (FTA) with the Philippines, via the Philippines-Japan Financial Partnership Settlement (PJEPA).
Jeoffrey Maitem contributed to this report from Davao Metropolis, southern Philippines.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated information service.
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