Japan-Philippines Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Working Lunch

FM. Kamikawa, who visited Manila last July 8, 2024, held a Japan-Philippines Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Working Lunch with Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hon. Enrique Manalo. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

On July 8, commencing at noon local time (1:00 p.m. Japan time), for approximately two hours, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Manila, the Republic of the Philippines, held a Japan-Philippines Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Working Lunch with Hon. Enrique A. Manalo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines. The overview of the Meeting is as follows:

Introduction

Minister Kamikawa stated that it was her pleasure to visit the Philippines for the first time in two years as Foreign Minister of Japan and expressed her desire to cooperate closely with the Philippines toward maintaining and strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law. Minister Kamikawa also stated that Japan would promote bilateral security and defense cooperation based on the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which was signed on the same day, and further deepen bilateral relations in a wide range of areas, such as cooperation on economy, people-to-people exchange and various regional and international issues, with in mind the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines in 2026.

In response, Minister Manalo welcomed Minister Kamikawa’s visit to the Philippines and expressed his hope to further develop bilateral relations in a wide array of fields.

Security Cooperation, etc.

Minister Kamikawa stated that Japan would further deepen security and maritime cooperation including through the provision of coastal surveillance radar system under the Official Security Assistance (OSA), the strengthening of coordination among coast guards, and the provision of additional patrol vessels under Official Development Assistance (ODA). In response, Minister Manalo expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support and his hope to further strengthen collaboration in such areas.

The two ministers confirmed their intention to enhance supply chain resilience including critical mineral supply chains and cooperation in human resource development for the semiconductor sector, and to strengthen coordination including on Open RAN and cybersecurity.

Minister Kamikawa mentioned Japan’s longstanding support for the Mindanao peace process and stated that Japan would provide continued support with in mind the new autonomous government to be established in 2025. In response, Minister Manalo expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support.

Economic Cooperation and Cultural and People-to-People Exchange

Minister Kamikawa expressed her desire to promote bilateral trade and investment relations and stated that Japan would continue to help the Philippines achieve upper middle-income country status, referring to Japan’s assistance for infrastructure development such as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, which she visited this time. In response, Minister Manalo renewed his gratitude for Japan’s support and stated that the Philippines would further promote bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, as well as in the economy.

Regarding people-to-people and cultural exchange, the two Ministers welcomed the decision to introduce measures on visa exemption arrangements for diplomatic passport holders of both countries and confirmed that the two countries would continue to promote people-to-people exchange, including through tourism.

Japan-Philippines-US Cooperation

The two Ministers welcomed the steady progress in the follow-up on the Japan-Philippines-US Summit Meeting in April this year and confirmed that the three countries would strengthen coordination, including on infrastructure development to enhance connectivity, economic security including addressing economic coercion, cybersecurity, and security and defense.

Regional and International Issues

The two Ministers also exchanged views on various regional and international issues and concurred to continue to collaborate on the situations including on the East and South China Seas, Ukraine, ASEAN, Myanmar, Israel and Palestine, and the WPS.