Japan and Philippines agree to work toward free and open Indo-Pacific

KYODO
JUN 1, 2019

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/06/01/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-
philippines-agree-work-toward-free-open-indo-pacific/#.XspUni3vAgo

Japan and the Philippines have agreed to work toward achieving a free, open and rules-based
Indo-Pacific region by strengthening security cooperation.

Japan will also continue to support building infrastructure and promoting the peace process in
Mindanao between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
said Friday after meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte.

“As we are both maritime nations sharing basic values and strategic interests, we will strengthen
coordination in tackling important challenges, including the realization of a free and open Indo-
Pacific based on the rule of law,” Abe told a joint news conference held at his office.

Facing territorial disputes with China in the East and South China seas, respectively, Japan and
the Philippines call themselves “strategic partners.”

Abe and Duterte also agreed to cooperate in achieving North Korea’s denuclearization by
implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and resolving the issue of Pyongyang’s
abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Duterte, who assumed his post in 2016, has been seen as taking a conciliatory approach to Beijing
despite the territorial row over the Spratly Islands, where China has reclaimed land and built an
airstrip and other facilities.

He visited China in late April for a forum on Beijing’s massive “Belt and Road” infrastructure
development initiative.

Abe praised Duterte’s own “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure development program, saying
Japan will continue to extend assistance.

Duterte expressed appreciation for Tokyo’s development assistance, saying, “It’s the gold
standard for the Philippines’ development cooperation with partner countries.”

Abe said the Philippines has decided to lift restrictions on imports of fishery products from
Fukushima Prefecture, which were implemented following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in
2011.
Japan argues that fishery products from Fukushima are safe to eat because they are shipped after
clearing strict radiation checks.

Some countries have been maintaining a total or partial import ban on the products.

In April, the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of South Korea, which has maintained its
import ban on fishery products from Fukushima and some other prefectures.