70 years after WW II, PHL points to strong ties with Japan 

The Philippines on Friday agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that "we must never again repeat the devastation of war" while also pointing out that relations with Japan since the end of World War II has been one of trust and support.

 

"Seventy years after the end of World War II, the Philippines remembers the great horrors, devastation, and suffering brought upon everyone. Along with the rest of the world, the Philippines agrees with Japan that 'we must never again repeat the devastation of war'," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.

 

It added that the Philippines has been working with the international community to rebuild after the war, and "in establishing and promoting international norms and institutions, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter, that help ensure global peace, stability, and prosperity."

 

The DFA said that relations between the Philippines and Japan for the past 70 years has "been characterized by trust and unfailing support in so many fields, as Japan has acted with compassion and in accordance with international law, and has more actively and more positively engaged the region and the world."

 

It said that this shows that countries can overcome issues of the past to establish strong friendships.

In June, President Benigno Aquino III and Prime Minister Abe signed a joint declaration to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Aquino also said that the Philippines and Japan will start talks towards a Visiting Forces Agreement to improve interoperability and cooperation between the countries' defense forces.

The announcement was made in light of increased tension in the South China Sea, part of which the Philippines claims as its territory.

 

Meanwhile, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Philippines has been one of the largest recipients of Japanese official development assistance, or ODA.

 

Japan's ODA to the Philippines, which Japan occupied from 1942 to 1945, reached $272 million in 2006. ODA in 2008 was at $302.54 million, making Japan the biggest source of development assistance to the Philippines that year. 

 

"Japan will further develop its overall bilateral relations with the Philippines building upon diplomatic assets acquired so far by Japan’s presence in the Philippines, wide range of cooperation between

the two countries in the international arena and the good relations fostered between the private-sectors of the two countries," its embassy also said in 2012. — JDS/DVM, GMA News