The Philippines has sought to strengthen ties with its former World War II foe as it faces a maritime dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea.
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Ohtaka said, however, that “n$3 obody is giving up on Asean yet, a lot of things will be discussed and we will continue to focus on Asean”.
Philippine-Chinese ties have frayed in recent years due to the maritime dispute.
JAPAN on Friday said the worldwide community should remain firm in its support to an arbitration ruling in favor of the Philippines to stop China’s incursions into other countries’ waters in the South China Sea.
Tensions over the disputes have mounted since the tribunal’s decision, with China angrily rejecting it and announcing penalties for “illegal” fishing in the disputed areas. Newly inaugurated Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been cracking down on drug dealers and users in his country, which has brought condemnation from human rights activists as well as from the United States. It said some incidents of harassment of Japanese citizens in China have been reported, although there have been no signs of a recurrence of the violent anti-Japanese protests of 2012. “They do not want further incursions”, Mr Duterte said.
“We are very concerned”, Ohtaka said, adding that developments in the East China Sea could parallel those in the South China Sea, where Beijing has stepped up the constant presence of its coast guard ships.
China’s Academy of Space Technology in Beijing has launched a new high-tech satellite, called the Gaofen 3 high-resolution Earth observation satellite, which has been created to protect its maritime interests, as well as warn of natural disasters, according to China Daily. Ramos said his trust-building mission was “to look for some old friends who have links to high officials in Beijing.to help pave the way, break the ice and rekindle the friendship that we had”.
“This is one of the biggest projects Japan has ever embarked upon using the yen loan”, said Mr Ohtaka. “We also reaffirm that we will contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity”, Mr. Kishida said in a press conference at the Marco Polo Hotel right after meeting with his Philippine counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr.
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Metro Manila’s traffic problems cost the Philippines an estimated $64 million a day in 2015, a Japanese-funded study found.
