Marcos in Japan to push PH position with ASEAN

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Tokyo Friday night to attend the 50th Commemorative ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit, his last foreign trip for 2023.

Mr. Marcos said the Summit, which marks 50 years of friendship and cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan, presents “an opportunity for the Philippines to affirm its position on current international issues and advance Philippine interests.”

Leaders from Southeast Asia and Japan will hold talks this weekend on boosting security ties with an eye on China, as well as Tokyo’s contentious efforts on energy cooperation.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade corridor, and its increasingly aggressive behavior in areas also claimed by Southeast Asian nations has stoked regional tensions.

Accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and a delegation ofgovernment officials, the President and his entourage received a warmwelcome from Japanese officials upon their arrival at Haneda International Airport at 7:13 p.m. (Japan time).

Additionally, Mr. Marcos emphasized the occasion to express gratitudefor the conferment of Comprehensive Partner Status to Japan.

Close US ally Japan, which also has competing territorial claims with China, is upping its military spending, and has boosted security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan agreed last month to help the Philippines—which has seen a spate of incidents involving Chinese vessels in recent weeks—secure new coast guard vessels, to supply a radar system and to start talks on a deal for deploying troops on each other’s soil.

According to a draft final statement from the summit this weekend, Japan and ASEAN will commit to “(strengthen) security cooperation, including maritime security cooperation.”

In his departure speech at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Mr. Marcos said the summit would be “an opportunity to welcome the conferment of Comprehensive Partner Status to Japan, ASEAN’s trusted and reliable partner in peace, economic development, and community-building.”

During the summit, Mr. Marcos said he would highlight the evolution of the ASEAN-Japan relationship, “particularly in shared commitment towards peace and security, trade and investment, food security, climate action, energy security, supply chain resilience, infrastructure development, and now, connectivity.”

“I shall reassure ASEAN member states and Japan that as permanent country coordinator for ASEAN-Japan Economic Relations, the Philippines will always continue to shepherd ASEAN initiatives and projects with Japan not only to co-create a region of economic prosperity, but also an inclusive society that is ready for the future,” he said.

The President will also participate in the Asia Zero Emission Community or AZEC Leaders Meeting, where he will apprise AZEC Partner countries of Philippine initiatives to promote a clean energy transition.

“I will thus invite AZEC Partners, Japan included, to invest in thePhilippine Renewable Energy Industry to achieve not only the intention of the AZEC, but also the overall goal of the Paris Agreement,” he said.

Mr. Marcos said the Commemorative Summit would feature three sessions, each with a particular focus within the ASEAN-Japan framework.

“The first session will take stock of Japan’s contribution to ASEAN’s community-building efforts, as well as Japan’s consistent support for ASEAN Centrality and the rules-based international order,” the President said.

The second session will feature “Heart to Heart” Partnership across Generations, where leaders will “recognize Japan’s commitment and steadfast initiatives in promoting friendship and camaraderie amongst the peoples of ASEAN and Japan to include the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Program.”

The last summit program will be on Co-Creation of Economy and Society of the Future where the President said he would bring the Philippine economic team led by Trade Secretary Fred Pascual to participate in talks.

Philippines-Japan relations, established on July 23, 1956, have evolved into a robust partnership, boasting 264 bilateral agreements encompassing defense equipment and technology transfer, infrastructure development, and the progress of Mindanao, among other facets, the Palace noted.

In 2022, Japan solidified its position as the Philippines’ second-largest trading partner, witnessing a notable increase in total trade to $23.49 billion, a 10.9 percent surge from the $21.83 billion recorded in 2021.

Notably, the sectors of manufacturing, it-bpm, electronic design services, PPP projects, agribusiness, and aquaculture, along with SME cluster/supply chain building projects, take precedence in the Philippines’ endeavors to promote investment in Japan.

Japan stands as the primary source of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the Philippines, contributing a substantial 40.49 percent ($12,923.99 million) to the country’s total ODA portfolio.

It also holds the second-largest share of grant assistance, accounting for 28.93 percent ($577.72 million) of the total grants’ portfolio.

Beyond diplomatic ties, Japan serves as a home for 331,523 registered Filipinos, further solidifying the enduring connections between the two nations, the Palace said.

Tokyo is boosting its renewables sector but it has also come under fire from environmental groups for providing large-scale public finance for fossil fuel projects around Asia.

Japan has also been seeking to push the export of tech aimed at reducing emissions by coal plants, such as co-firing with ammonia and carbon capture. But critics say these methods are unproven and expensive.

“We can’t ask all the ASEAN countries to switch to renewable energy drastically because they don’t have sufficient technology, they don’t have sufficient resources,” a Japanese government official said.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Myanmar is also a member but leaders of its junta have been banned from the bloc’s high-level meetings since failing to implement an agreed five-point peace plan following a 2021 coup. With AFP

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