Marcos in Tokyo today for summit

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos leaves for Tokyo today to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit, where he is also expected to reaffirm the Philippines’ relations with the host country, fortified by common security and economic interests.

Marcos will be accompanied on the trip by what the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described as a “lean and mean” delegation.

The three-day summit will highlight the gains in the cooperation between the regional bloc and the Asian economic giant.

He will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, his first official engagement on the trip, and take part in discussions on the status of business deals signed during his visit to Japan last February.

“As for the Philippines, I can say probably to a certain extent, we have a stronger relation with Japan than many, if not all, of the members of ASEAN. And this is even becoming more intensified in the last few years because of common security and economic concerns,” DFA Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said at a press briefing last Monday.

“At the same time, we were able to maintain the high-level of people-to-people and social cultural exchange between us,” he added.

Espiritu said the relationship between ASEAN and Japan is “one of the most dynamic” and covers a wide range of areas.

He cited Japan’s support for the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which focuses on security, economics and climate action; the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the regional bloc’s free trade agreement with Tokyo.

“It’s involved in practically every aspect of community building, from the political area, political diplomatic area to security areas,” Espiritu said.

The summit, which will also mark the end of the 50th anniversary celebration of the relations between ASEAN and Japan, is seen to yield two outcome documents – a joint vision statement and its implementation plan.

It is also expected to touch on the situation in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Myanmar and the Korean Peninsula as well as issues related to trade, connectivity, infrastructure, climate change, food and energy security.

While the main event of Marcos’ trip – his second visit to Japan and his 19th foreign trip since becoming president last year – focuses on ASEAN-Japan ties, bilateral issues may also be tackled.

Among them is the planned reciprocal access agreement that will allow the Philippines and Japan to deploy military troops to each other’s territory for joint drills.

Marcos and Kishida agreed to begin the negotiations on the deal during the Japanese leader’s official visit to Manila last month.

Both the Philippines and Japan are embroiled in disputes with China, whose aggressive ways of asserting its maritime claims are worrying its neighbors.

China claims historic rights over practically the entire South China Sea while the Philippines Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. Beijing’s expansive maritime claim was invalidated in 2016 by an arbitral court based in The Hague. China does not recognize the ruling.

Japan and China are also claiming the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The Philippines and Japan have agreed to enhance their cooperation with the US, which has been critical of China’s actions in the South China Sea.

Other expected highlights of Marcos’ trip are his attendance at a forum organized by the Asia Zero Emission Community – a regional organization composed of ASEAN, Japan and Australia – that will provide him the opportunity to seek support for the Philippines’ bid to host the board of the Loss and Damage Fund; and an audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.

Expected to join Marcos on the trip are First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Speaker Martin Romualdez, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil and Presidential Adviser on Investments and Economic Affairs Frederick Go.