Marcos in Tokyo today for summit

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos leaves for Tokyo today to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit, where he is also expected to reaffirm the Philippines’ relations with the host country, fortified by common security and economic interests.

Marcos will be accompanied on the trip by what the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described as a “lean and mean” delegation.

The three-day summit will highlight the gains in the cooperation between the regional bloc and the Asian economic giant.

He will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, his first official engagement on the trip, and take part in discussions on the status of business deals signed during his visit to Japan last February.

“As for the Philippines, I can say probably to a certain extent, we have a stronger relation with Japan than many, if not all, of the members of ASEAN. And this is even becoming more intensified in the last few years because of common security and economic concerns,” DFA Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said at a press briefing last Monday.

“At the same time, we were able to maintain the high-level of people-to-people and social cultural exchange between us,” he added.

Espiritu said the relationship between ASEAN and Japan is “one of the most dynamic” and covers a wide range of areas.

He cited Japan’s support for the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which focuses on security, economics and climate action; the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the regional bloc’s free trade agreement with Tokyo.

“It’s involved in practically every aspect of community building, from the political area, political diplomatic area to security areas,” Espiritu said.

The summit, which will also mark the end of the 50th anniversary celebration of the relations between ASEAN and Japan, is seen to yield two outcome documents – a joint vision statement and its implementation plan.

It is also expected to touch on the situation in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Myanmar and the Korean Peninsula as well as issues related to trade, connectivity, infrastructure, climate change, food and energy security.

While the main event