P-Noy wants greater defense role for Japan
President Aquino answers questions from reporters on a PAL chartered flight en route to Hiroshima from Tokyo yesterday. With him are Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima (left) and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.
TOKYO – President Aquino yesterday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make Japan more assertive in helping other nations in the region stand up to an aggressive neighbor.
“We believe that nations of goodwill can only benefit if the Japanese government is empowered to assist others and is allowed the wherewithal to come to the aid of those in need, especially in the areas of collective self-defense,” Aquino said.
Aquino endorsed the Japanese prime minister’s ongoing push to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution to allow its military to defend not only Japan but also allies that come under attack.
“There has been some debate on the Japanese government’s plan to revisit certain interpretations of its constitution,” Aquino told a joint press conference here yesterday following a luncheon meeting with the Japanese leader at his residence.
Aquino said there are “ambiguities as regards the bounds of Japan’s ability to respond, even in the midst of an attack on its allies.”
Aquino’s support comes as Japan and the Philippines deepen security ties in the face of China’s military expansion and territorial disputes they and other Asian nations have with China in the South and East China seas.
For his part, Abe thanked Aquino for the effort of strengthening their diplomatic relations.
“I reaffirmed with President Aquino today the significance of the three principles of the rule of law, which I outlined at the Shangri-La dialogue and at the G7 meeting,” the Japanese leader said.
Abe said both Tokyo and Manila “are closely coordinating” in the “face of the regional situation becoming increasingly severe.”
Neither Aquino nor Abe mentioned China by name, but both leaders referred to the changing security environment. China’s rise is a potential challenge to American dominance in the Pacific, and control of vital shipping routes as well as potential undersea oil and natural gas.
“I explained to the President about the approaches we are taking under the policy of proactive contribution to peace, namely the drawing up of the three principles for the transfer of defense equipment and the studies which are underway on relationship between the right of collective self-defense and the constitution,” Abe said.
Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is in the midst of tough negotiations with its coalition partner, the New Komeito, which has so far balked at Abe’s proposal to allow what is known as collective self-defense.
Under the current interpretation of the constitution, the Japanese military can use force only to defend its homeland.
China has criticized Japan’s push for collective self-defense, warning against the return of Japanese militarism that wreaked havoc across much of Asia before and during World War II.
Aquino acknowledged the devastation the Philippines suffered at Japanese hands, but said his country’s relations with Japan have been marked by trust and unfailing support in the years since.
“We do not view with alarm any proposal to revisit the Japanese constitution if the Japanese people so decide,” Aquino said, “especially if this enhances Japan’s ability to address its international obligations and brings us closer to the attainment of our shared goals.”
The rule of law
Aquino also said his visit to Japan was focusing on “the challenge of safeguarding our regional security by advancing the rule of law to protect our global and regional common interest.”
Abe has repeatedly called for the rule of law to be upheld in the region as tensions simmer over territorial disputes involving China and the Philippines and some Southeast Asian states around the South China Sea, as well as between Tokyo and Beijing in the East China Sea.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the shores of neighboring countries, and has become more aggressive in enforcing what it says are its historical rights.
When Abe visited Manila in July last year, he pledged Japan’s help in strengthening the Philippines’ maritime defense capabilities.
Part of that was a promise of 10 patrol boats for the Philippine Coast Guard, which is on the front line of Manila’s spat with China.
The Philippines has lodged repeated protests over China’s growing military and civilian presence on islands and in waters within what it considers its exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, relations between Japan and China have plummeted over their competing claims to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.
Support for the peace process
Later in the day, Aquino visited Hiroshima to attend a conference on the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed early this year.
Japan hosted secret talks between Aquino and MILF leader Murad Ebrahim in 2011, which later became recognized as a key moment in igniting the peace push.
“Japan will continue to provide support so that
peace can be maintained,” Abe told the conference.
“Lastly, I should extend my congratulations for the recent peace agreement and express my respect for the leadership of the President. Japan will continue to provide support so that peace may take hold,” he said.
Aquino then thanked Abe and the Japanese government as he looked forward to revitalizing the strategic partnership between the two Asian countries.
Both leaders expressed interest in increasing trade, including in the Asian region, where they also discussed areas of cooperation that would enhance the strategic partnership between Manila and Tokyo.
Among the areas of cooperation that were taken up were humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime cooperation, promotion of trade and investments, people-to-people exchanges and the Mindanao peace process.
During the visit, Abe informed Aquino about his country’s “relaxation of visa requirements for the Philippines toward the promotion of human exchange.”
“It is hoped that many tourists from the Philippines would visit Japan,” Abe said. – AP, AFP
- FOLLOW US:
No comments:
Post a Comment