Yesterday, April 9, the Foreign and Defense Ministers of Japan and the Philippines met in Tokyo.
This is the first so-called two-plus-two meeting.
Both Japan and the Philippines are island nations and are threatened by China.
China has repeatedly violated the territorial waters of the Senkaku Islands, which are Japanese territory, and unilaterally claims and effectively controls the Nansha Islands, which are in Philippine territorial waters, as Chinese territory without any legal basis.
The two-plus-two talks between Japan and the Philippines were held with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's maritime expansion in defiance of international law in mind.
They confirmed that they will create a framework for mutual visits and mutual provision of goods and services between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, promote cooperation in maritime security, connectivity improvement, human resource development, counter-piracy/anti-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism in and around the Sulu-Celebes Sea, as well as in economic security areas including cybersecurity.
We welcome the cooperation between Japan and the Philippines as partners.
Just before this meeting took place, a joint exercise between the Philippine National Army and the U.S. Army was being conducted.
In response to these developments, President Xi Jinping is said to have said in a telephone conversation with President Duterte that "regional security cannot be achieved by relying on strengthening military alliances," a statement that fails to understand that it is Xi Jinping who is creating the spark in the first place.
I have great expectations that cooperation between Japan and the Philippines will expand in the future in order to maintain security and peace in the region.
