At a brief 20-minute encounter on Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged to upgrade cooperation between their countries across the fields of security, economy and infrastructure.
Takaichi, who assumed office just days ago, told reporters after the meeting: “We discussed our respective issues of concern frankly.” According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she described the Philippines as “a strategic partner” in Tokyo’s vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
The two leaders welcomed key developments in their defence relationship: they noted an agreement in principal on a new Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), the full enforcement of their Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) as of September, and ongoing collaboration under the Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework. With maritime disputes in the South China Sea still unresolved, Manila and Tokyo pledged to “continue close coordination in addressing various international challenges”, including sea-zone tensions, North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes, and situations in Myanmar and the Thailand-Cambodia border region.
On the economic front, Takaichi said Japan intended to leverage its strengths to help build resilience in the Philippine economy and its infrastructure, as well as to support agricultural processing, including post-harvest rice equipment. Meanwhile, Marcos commended Japan’s development assistance and invited Takaichi to visit the Philippines in 2026 — a milestone year that marks 70 years since the two countries normalised diplomatic relations.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related summits hosted in Kuala Lumpur, where both leaders addressed pressing regional strategic concerns.
