Aquino, Japan PM Abe discuss closer ties, China

Natashya Gutierrez

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet at the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit to discuss various issues including their respective disputes with China

BILATERAL MEETING. President Benigno Aquino III meets with Japan PM Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit. Malacañang Photo Bureau

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to further tighten already close bilateral ties between their countries, both currently at odds with China over territorial disputes.

Asked about his bilateral meeting with Abe at the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit on Wednesday, November 12,  Aquino told reporters that the common assessment of the two leaders is “that our ties have really gotten that much closer and the desire to make it even that much tighter and closer.”

Aquino  said in a media interview late Wednesday night that they also talked about their disputes with China, though only “in passing.”

“Of course we discussed also in passing the common stance with regards to settling the issues on the South China Sea based on the rule of law, an international law. In our case, we specify UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and then ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) as a mechanism,” he said.

Both are coming fresh out of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping from APEC in Beijing. Abe and the Chinese leader met for the first time since 2012.

Aquino had pushed for the early completion of a binding Declaration of the Conduct of of Parties in the South China Sea at the ASEAN-Japan Summit.

During the bilateral meeting, Aquino thanked Abe for Japan’s assistance to the Philippines after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged the country in November 2013.

He also said Japan is sponsoring a study on a potential subway system for Metro Manila.

Like the Philippines, Japan and China have clashed over uninhabited, strategically important islands, believed to harbor vast natural resources below their seabed. The islands are called the Diaoyu by China and Senkaku in Japan.

On March 29, the Philippines submitted a nearly 4000-page memorial to a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal over a maritime dispute with China in a bid to end what it considered decades of bullying by that country. China has refused to acknowledge the designated arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear the case. 

Other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei are also claimants in the disputed area.  Rappler.com

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.