Marcos looking forward to expanding ties with Japan, US amid Kishida’s visit

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that he looked forward to trilateral engagements with Tokyo and Washington D.C. for the rest of 2023.

After Kishida’s arrival in the Malacañan Palace, the two state leaders had a bilateral meeting.

“Our meeting today builds upon the momentum of the recent past and we look forward to expanding cooperation with you, especially in key areas, such as economic development, development cooperation, and security cooperation,” said Marcos in his opening statement.

“While we continue to enhance our bilateral relations, I am pleased that the trilateral engagements at various fronts among the Philippines, Japan, and the United States have commenced — this started this year,” he added.

Both the United States and Japan are key allies of the Philippines in its territorial row with China in the West Philippine Sea.

While the President did not make mention of these issues in his speech, Kishida and Marcos are slated to speak about the territorial disputes during the Prime Minister’s two-day stay in the country.

In turn, Kishida said that Japan wants to foster stronger ties with the Philippines.

“And as the international community faces complex crises, we would like to strengthen our cooperation with the Philippines to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law to ensure a world where human dignity is protected. I very much look forward to discussing issues with you in-depth today,” said the Japanese prime minister.

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