Japan-Philippines Relations

On January 9, 2020, on his visit to Manila, Philippines, Mr. Motegi Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, met with Hon. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, for approximately 70 minutes from 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m., JST) at a small-group meeting and a full-delegation meeting. The two ministers discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on the situations around the Middle East as well as regional affairs including the South China Sea. The overview of the meeting is as follows: 

1. Minister Motegi welcomed the Philippines’ inauguration of its Consulate General in Nagoya in December 2019, and announced that the Government of Japan, on condition that the budget plan for FY 2020 will be approved, plans on elevating the nomenclature of its consular office in Cebu to a Consulate General in 2020. Against this backdrop, Minister Motegi expressed his will to work with Secretary Locsin on deepening the bilateral relations further in various fields, ranging from the economy and security to people-to-people exchanges, and at multiple layers, under the leadership of President Duterte and Prime Minister Abe.
2. Minister Motegi conveyed Japan’s intention to support the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” policy and to continue its cooperation with the Philippines on infrastructure development, including railways. In addition, Minister Motegi expressed Japan’s intention to leverage its know-how on natural disaster response and risk management, a challenge shared by both countries. The two ministers signed and exchanged notes concerning an additional yen loan for aseismic reinforcement of two priority bridges in Metro Manila, i.e. Guadalupe Bridge and Lambingan Bridge, under the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project [total loan provision of up to JPY 4.409 billion].
3. With regard to the Mindanao peace process, Minister Motegi welcomed the lifting of martial law as of the end of last year and expressed anticipation for a boost to investment and tourism in the region. Furthermore, Minister Motegi referred to Japan’s intention to augment support to the decommissioning work for soldiers of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which officially commenced in September 2019, and social infrastructure development that will let the people of Mindanao enjoy the dividends of peace.
4. Secretary Locsin declared that, on January 8, the Government of the Philippines lifted its import restriction on Japanese food products, introduced in the wake of the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Minister Motegi welcomed the Philippines’ decision and expressed his hope that safe food products from Japan including Fukushima Prefecture reach many dinner tables in the Philippines.
5. The two ministers concurred with each other on galvanizing cooperation on security and maritime law enforcement, in light of expanding bilateral cooperation in security areas in recent years, including defense equipment transfers.
6. The two ministers welcomed the consolidation of bilateral cooperation on Subic Bay development in the form of a Memorandum of Cooperation in December 2019, and acknowledged the joint position to continue close coordination to unlock the potential of Subic Bay’s economic development through the formulation of a master plan.
7. The two ministers shared the view on the need for complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges by North Korea and for the full implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. In addition, Minister Motegi sought Secretary Locsin’s understanding and cooperation for the early resolution of the abductions issue and obtained his endorsement.