In wake of Chinese aggression, Japan, Philippines to start talks on 2 pacts

Manila: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that his country and the Philippines would start talks on two proposed defence pacts to further boost their security alliance and would continue to fight aggression in disputed Asian waters in an obvious rebuke of China.

Ishiba and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also discussed in Manila the impact of the barrage of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and China’s countermeasures on the global economy and free trade system, the Japanese premier said in a news conference with Marcos after their talks.

Ishiba said without elaborating that he would carry out consultations in the Philippines, where major Japanese companies have a presence, to “work toward a better solution.”

He flew to the Philippines after a visit to Vietnam, another Southeast Asian nation which has had increasingly hostile confrontations with China’s coast guard, naval and suspected militia forces in recent years. Beijing claims virtually the entire waterway, where it has bolstered its coast guard and naval presence and built artificial island bases.