Japan-Philippines Relations
Japan-Philippines Summit Telephone Talk
November 17, 2021
On November 17, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit telephone talk with His Excellency Rodrigo R. Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines, for about 25 minutes from 6:30 p.m. The overview of the talk is as follows:
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida made reference to his visit in 2016 as Minister for Foreign Affairs to Davao, the hometown of President Duterte, and expressed his interest in continuing to forge close ties with President Duterte. In response, President Duterte conveyed a message of congratulations on Mr. Kishida’s appointment as Prime Minister and successful holding of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Prime Minister Kishida expressed his commitment to continuing support to the Philippines’ infrastructure development including railways, response to COVID-19, and capabilities enhancement for maritime law enforcement, among others. In response, President Duterte, recognizing Japan as “a friend closer than a brother,” once again expressed his appreciation for Japan's long-standing cooperation on the Mindanao peace process, infrastructure development, and response to COVID-19.
- The two leaders concurred on advancing concrete cooperation for the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” and the “ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific,” including in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and their surrounding areas. Furthermore, the two leaders concurred on considering the launch of the Japan-Philippines Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (“2+2”) to further strengthen the decade-old Strategic Partnership.
- The two leaders also exchanged views on regional affairs, and Prime Minister Kishida expressed his strong opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas. The two leaders also exchanged views on North Korea, and affirmed that they would continue to coordinate in dealing with North Korea, including on the abductions issue.
- Prime Minister Kishida shared his intention to support ASEAN’s initiatives regarding Myanmar, and the two leaders concurred on further enhancing coordination toward the resolution of the situation.
- The two leaders also exchanged views on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). President Duterte conveyed a message of congratulations on the adoption of the draft resolution on the elimination of nuclear weapons submitted to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly by Japan. The two leaders concurred on strengthening coordination toward the successful 2022 NPT Review Conference.