Philippines, Japan Review Ties and Regional Developments in Leaders' Phone Call
Key Takeaways
- •Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a 20-minute phone call ahead of the November ASEAN Summit, reviewing cooperation on energy security, defense, and peace consolidation efforts in Mindanao.
- •The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Luzon Economic Corridor, an infrastructure initiative linking Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas that was announced in 2024 as the first such corridor in the Indo-Pacific.
- •Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Takaichi signaled Japan's intention to cooperate with the Philippines at the November ASEAN Summit and in co-hosting the Asia Zero Emission Community summit meeting.
- •The leaders agreed on the need to strengthen economic and energy resilience amid prolonged Middle East instability, a region that supplies the bulk of crude oil imported by both Japan and the Philippines.
- •Japan's support for peace-building in Mindanao is long-standing, following the peace agreement signed there between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.
The Philippines and Japan exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and regional developments ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in November, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, and the two leaders “reviewed their close cooperation on energy security, defense, and peace consolidation efforts in Mindanao,” according to the PCO. Japan has long supported peace-building and development efforts in Mindanao, where the government signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.
“They also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional resilience through the Luzon Economic Corridor and advancing cooperation on shared priorities,” the PCO said in a statement.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in a separate statement, said that during the 20-minute phone call, Ms. Takaichi noted Japan's intention to cooperate with the Philippines during the November summit, as well as in co-hosting the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) summit meeting.
“Amid prolonged instability in the Middle East, it is important for the countries concerned to work together to strengthen economic and energy resilience,” the statement read. The Middle East supplies the bulk of the crude oil imported by both Japan and the Philippines, making stability in the region a direct energy security concern for both countries.
MoFA added that the two leaders concurred to continue cooperating for peace and stability in the region.
The Luzon Economic Corridor is an infrastructure initiative linking Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas, advanced jointly by the Philippines, Japan, and the United States under the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. It was announced in 2024 as the first such corridor in the Indo-Pacific. AZEC, launched by Japan in 2022 together with Southeast Asian countries and other partners, promotes decarbonization and the clean-energy transition across Asia.
Mr. Marcos took office in June 2022, while Ms. Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister in 2025. The Philippines holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship for 2026, hosting the bloc's summits this year, including the November summit.
The story was originally reported by Erika Mae P. Sinaking for BusinessWorld.
