PH, Japan talk enhanced ties ahead of trilateral summit with US

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The foreign affairs secretary and minister of the Philippines and Japan met here on Thursday as the countries sought to strengthen their relations even further moving forward.

The bilateral meeting between Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko occurred hours before the trilateral summit among the leaders of the Philippines, the US, and Japan.

“As the world is facing the complex set of crises, it is extremely important to strengthen the multilayered network of cooperation through Japan-Philippine bilateral and Japan-US-Philippine trilateral cooperation in order to both maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law and promote regional economic development as well as address the world issues together,” Kamikawa said.

“I would like to discuss ways to further deepen international cooperation, including our bilateral cooperation and trilateral cooperation with the United States,” she added, noting that the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries will hit 70 years in 2026.

For his part, Manalo said bilateral relations between the two countries have expanded and grown since the two ministers last met in December 2023.

“I think it’s also very opportune and I thank you for proposing this meeting that — this is a good chance to go over the progress of our relationship, and also, I think ahead on how to strengthen it further,” he said.

Aside from the foreign ministers, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are also in Washington for the trilateral leaders summit with US President Joe Biden.

The three leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss and explore opportunities for enhancing trilateral cooperation across areas of mutual interest, after which they are expected to adopt and issue a Joint Vision Statement.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez on Wednesday said the Philippines is set to reap some $100 billion in investments from both the US and Japan in the next five years, as the three parties are looking to deepen their economic cooperation this week.

The latest data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the United States was the biggest recipient of Philippine exports in February with $947.83 million or 16.0% of the total, followed by Japan with $849.17 million or 14.4%.

In terms of imports, Japan was the second-biggest supplier of imported goods to the Philippines with $845.23 million or 8.8% of the total, behind China with $2.18 billion or 22.8%. Meanwhile, the United States came in sixth with $550.16 million. —NB, GMA Integrated News