Japan-Philippines Relations
Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting
October 30, 2017
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
On October 30, commencing at around 5:10 p.m. for approximately two hours, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Rodrigo R. Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines, who is currently visiting Japan. The following is an overview of the meeting. Mr. Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and others also attended the meeting.
As an outcome of the meeting, a joint statement concerning bilateral cooperation over the next five years was signed.
1 In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Abe welcomed President Duterte's visit to Japan. Prime Minister Abe expressed his great pleasure to be able to meet President Duterte again since he visited the Philippines in January and thanked President Duterte once again for inviting him to his residence in Davao. Prime Minister Abe also noted that this is their fourth meeting in a year and expressed delight to have had so many opportunities to deepen their friendship. In addition, Prime Minister Abe welcomed the announcement of the liberation of the City of Marawi, expressed his sincere respect for President Duterte's leadership, extended Japan's support for the Philippines' fight against terror, and promised to continue all possible assistance to the Philippines. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe stated that he is looking forward to visiting the Philippines in two weeks and will provide every support to President Duterte, who will chair the ASEAN-related summit meetings, in order to ensure their success.
2 Prime Minister Abe also expressed his desire to engage in a frank exchange of views towards further strengthening the "Strategic Partnership" between the two countries. Additionally, Prime Minister Abe referred to Japan's announcement in January of contributions amounting to 1 trillion yen over the next five years, and expressed his intention to announce a joint document concerning cooperation over the next five years to substantiate these contributions, to swiftly and steadily implement the cooperation, and to demonstrate the strong "Strategic Partnership" between the two countries to the world.
3 The two leaders exchanged views on the Metro Manila railway development, strengthening connectivity between the regions, support for local urban development including that in Davao, strengthening resilience against natural disasters including measures to counter flooding in the industrial area in Cavite Province, resolving electricity issues, achieving the entry of Japanese companies in the area of LNG terminals, bilateral currency swaps, and "proposals for the industrial development vision." In addition, the two leaders agreed that the liberation of the City of Marawi was a great achievement by President Duterte, which sent a clear message that Southeast Asia will not be allowed to become a base for the Islamic State and is extremely important to the overall security of Asia, and discussed the provision of maximum support for the recovery and reconstruction of Marawi and its surroundings, and the strengthening of support for the development of Mindanao. They also discussed the mid- and long-term action plan for the next five years concerning countermeasures against illegal drugs, and, with regard to measures on terrorism, public security, and maritime safety, Prime Minister Abe noted that the ceremony to hand over 40 patrol cars to the Philippine National Police (PNP) was held on October 25, while the commissioning ceremony for three patrol vessels and handover ceremony for three high-speed vessels are scheduled in November. Prime Minister Abe also said that, in order to ensure the effective operation of the patrol vessels and other equipment, Japan will provide coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines and the support team for capacity building, which was established by the Japan Coast Guard in October, will implement its first training sessions and drills in November in Manila. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe announced that Japan intends to promote further defense cooperation.
4 In response, President Duterte expressed his gratitude for the longstanding support from Japan over the years, welcomed the realization of the outcomes included in the joint statement on this occasion as the result of the significant progress made through the three meetings of the Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation beginning in March, and noted that these are all important projects for the Philippines. President Duterte also stated that Japan has long been actively engaged in Mindanao as a friend of the Philippines, that the cooperative relationship between Japan and the Philippines has been refined over many years, passing the test of time, and that it is important to take projects from creation to execution, from "build, build, build" to "done, done, done," and expressed his desire to strengthen the "Strategic Partnership" with Japan, a true friend of the Philippines.
5 The two leaders also exchanged views on challenge common to both Japan and the Philippines such as North Korea, maritime security, and collaboration towards the upcoming ASEAN-related summit meetings.
6 The two leaders shared the recognition that North Korea's continued nuclear and missile development is a threat, and confirmed the importance of strictly implementing the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also reconfirmed that they will continue working together towards an early resolution of the abduction issue, which is one of the top priorities of the Abe administration.
7 With regard to the ASEAN-related summit meetings, Prime Minister Abe conveyed the Japanese Government's policy of providing every support for the success of the meetings, which President Duterte will chair. President Duterte expressed his gratitude and stated his intent to work together closely with Japan.
As an outcome of the meeting, a joint statement concerning bilateral cooperation over the next five years was signed.
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
2 Prime Minister Abe also expressed his desire to engage in a frank exchange of views towards further strengthening the "Strategic Partnership" between the two countries. Additionally, Prime Minister Abe referred to Japan's announcement in January of contributions amounting to 1 trillion yen over the next five years, and expressed his intention to announce a joint document concerning cooperation over the next five years to substantiate these contributions, to swiftly and steadily implement the cooperation, and to demonstrate the strong "Strategic Partnership" between the two countries to the world.
3 The two leaders exchanged views on the Metro Manila railway development, strengthening connectivity between the regions, support for local urban development including that in Davao, strengthening resilience against natural disasters including measures to counter flooding in the industrial area in Cavite Province, resolving electricity issues, achieving the entry of Japanese companies in the area of LNG terminals, bilateral currency swaps, and "proposals for the industrial development vision." In addition, the two leaders agreed that the liberation of the City of Marawi was a great achievement by President Duterte, which sent a clear message that Southeast Asia will not be allowed to become a base for the Islamic State and is extremely important to the overall security of Asia, and discussed the provision of maximum support for the recovery and reconstruction of Marawi and its surroundings, and the strengthening of support for the development of Mindanao. They also discussed the mid- and long-term action plan for the next five years concerning countermeasures against illegal drugs, and, with regard to measures on terrorism, public security, and maritime safety, Prime Minister Abe noted that the ceremony to hand over 40 patrol cars to the Philippine National Police (PNP) was held on October 25, while the commissioning ceremony for three patrol vessels and handover ceremony for three high-speed vessels are scheduled in November. Prime Minister Abe also said that, in order to ensure the effective operation of the patrol vessels and other equipment, Japan will provide coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines and the support team for capacity building, which was established by the Japan Coast Guard in October, will implement its first training sessions and drills in November in Manila. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe announced that Japan intends to promote further defense cooperation.
4 In response, President Duterte expressed his gratitude for the longstanding support from Japan over the years, welcomed the realization of the outcomes included in the joint statement on this occasion as the result of the significant progress made through the three meetings of the Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation beginning in March, and noted that these are all important projects for the Philippines. President Duterte also stated that Japan has long been actively engaged in Mindanao as a friend of the Philippines, that the cooperative relationship between Japan and the Philippines has been refined over many years, passing the test of time, and that it is important to take projects from creation to execution, from "build, build, build" to "done, done, done," and expressed his desire to strengthen the "Strategic Partnership" with Japan, a true friend of the Philippines.
5 The two leaders also exchanged views on challenge common to both Japan and the Philippines such as North Korea, maritime security, and collaboration towards the upcoming ASEAN-related summit meetings.
6 The two leaders shared the recognition that North Korea's continued nuclear and missile development is a threat, and confirmed the importance of strictly implementing the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also reconfirmed that they will continue working together towards an early resolution of the abduction issue, which is one of the top priorities of the Abe administration.
7 With regard to the ASEAN-related summit meetings, Prime Minister Abe conveyed the Japanese Government's policy of providing every support for the success of the meetings, which President Duterte will chair. President Duterte expressed his gratitude and stated his intent to work together closely with Japan.
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
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Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office