Japan’s FM Takeshi Iwaya to visit Philippines next week

MANILA: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit the Philippines on Jan 14-15 to strengthen their strategic partnership amidst an “increasingly complex security environment”, Manila’s department of foreign affairs said Friday.

The Philippines and Japan are longtime allies of the US, which has been strengthening its alliances from Canberra to Tokyo to counter China’s growing military might and influence in the region.

Iwaya will hold a bilateral meeting with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo “to discuss political, defence, security, economic and development cooperation, as well as other areas of mutual concern”, the foreign affairs department said in a statement.

“Amid an increasingly complex security environment, they are expected to reaffirm the mutual commitment to further enhancing the ‘strengthened strategic partnership’ between the two countries and to seize new opportunities for cooperation,” it added.

In July 2024, the two countries signed a reciprocal access agreement, a key defence pact that allows them to deploy troops on each other’s soil.

Japan has been building the newest and largest ships of the Philippine Coast Guard, a key element of Manila’s efforts to assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

Last month, Tokyo granted Manila 1.6 billion yen (US$10.6 million) aimed at beefing up its naval capabilities through their official security assistance programme launched in 2023.