TOKYO, JAPAN — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has set his eyes on building “stronger defense and security cooperation” with Japan as he begins his five-day official visit here on Wednesday.
In an interview aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR-001, Marcos said Japan and the Philippines are “interested in the same things,” such as “security in the region.”
“This is a new element to our relationship because we are now talking about the security of the region. So being, of course, interested in the same things, i.e., security in the region, I think cooperation is not a bad thing,” he told journalists on the presidential plane en route to Tokyo.
Departing Manila at 1:01 p.m., Marcos arrived at the Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) at 5:35 p.m. (Manila time 4:35 p.m.)
Throughout the years, Marcos said the country’s dealings with Japan have been limited to loan agreements, humanitarian assistance, aid provision, and trade, thus maintaining security cooperation will be new for both nations.
Alongside the Philippine delegation — composed of Cabinet members and Manila-based businessmen — Marcos said he will work on further 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 of prosperity.”
In his departure speech earlier that day in Pasay City, Marcos said he will be cultivating collaboration in areas “where future synergies and complementary interests converge with those of Japan.”
“My bilateral visit to Japan is essential. 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 countries in the region amid a challenging global environment,” Marcos said.
For geopolitical analyst Don Mclain Gill, Japan, and the Philippines “share a similar threat perception,” which is the rising power and influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Based on contemporary trends in the international and regional geopolitical landscape, Japan is a natural and highly crucial defense and economic partner of the Philippines,” Gill said in a television interview.
“Both states converge on the maintenance of the established rules-based order and share similar threat perception, particularly towards a rising China,” he added.
Agriculture
As the country’s concurrent Agriculture chief, Marcos will urge the Japanese government to “open up” its market to fresh produce of Filipino farmers and fisherfolks.
“(Our cooperation) would not only be limited to the usual exchange of technology — that’s an important part of it — but also investment in agriculture and, hopefully, opening up markets in Japan for our agricultural products,” he said.
“So that’s a very wide-ranging discussion. So, yes, we hope to do a lot in that regard so we can accelerate our agricultural development.”
Moreover, the chief executive hopes his trip would pave the way for the resumption of discussions on the projects between Japan and the Philippines.
“What we’re really having to do now is we’re going to, we’re finalizing some of the projects that, for example, were postponed because of the pandemic lockdowns,” he said.
Meetings
Marcos will kick off his ninth overseas trip, scheduled from 8 to 12 February, with a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The two leaders are expected to sign key agreements in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, infrastructure, agriculture, and digital cooperation.
Moreover, Marcos is expected to deliver a keynote address during the “Philippine Business Opportunity” seminar to be attended by “hundreds of top Japanese businessmen.”
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo earlier said Marcos’s working trip to Japan is seen to generate P150 billion in investment pledges that should result in the employment of some 8,000 Filipinos.
Japan has been a major bilateral trade and official development partner, consistent in its commitment to upholding the same values aligned with the Philippines’ economic and development priorities.
The neighboring country was also the first to sign a bilateral free trade agreement with the Philippines through the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.