Takaichi announces Japan and Philippines will negotiate military information protection and discuss destroyer transfer.

Takaichi announces Japan and Philippines will negotiate military information protection and discuss destroyer transfer.

[Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting (2)] On May 28, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi held a meeting with H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines, who is visiting Japan as a State Guest, at the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace. Following the meeting, they attended a document signing ceremony and a joint press occasion. Lastly, Prime Minister Takaichi hosted a dinner. Prime Minister Takaichi made the following remarks during the joint press occasion. (Prime Minister Takaichi)This year marks the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines, and I would like to extend my heartfelt welcome to President Marcos on his State Visit to Japan. Japan and the Philippines are neighbors across the sea. We share fundamental values and principles. Cooperation with the Philippines, one of our closest like-minded partners, is of critical importance to realizing an updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). From this perspective, President Marcos and I agreed today to position our bilateral relationship as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This reflects the determination of both countries to continue strengthening our ties as like-minded countries in a sustained and multilayered manner without being swayed by changes in the international environment. At today's meeting, in the field of security, we agreed to commence negotiations on an agreement on the protection of classified military information. We also agreed to accelerate discussions between our defense authorities toward the transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and other equipment. In order to address the increasingly severe strategic environment in the region, we will continue to deepen our cooperation with the Philippines. We also agreed to further deepen economic cooperation between Japan and the Philippines, as well as between Japan and ASEAN, including efforts to strengthen economic resilience and supply chain resilience across the entire Asian region. In this regard, our two countries will advance deliberations toward upgrading the Japan–Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) and the ASEAN–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement going forward. The Philippines is an important partner for Japan in terms of trade and investment. In order to further promote investment and economic exchanges between our two countries and to continue supporting the Philippines’ efforts to attain upper middle-income country status, in addition to the New Tax Convention signed earlier today, we also signed memoranda of cooperation this month in such fields as agriculture, the International Horticultural Expo, artificial intelligence (AI), space, and human resource development. At a time when uncertainty in the international energy situation is increasing, Japan stands together with the Philippines and other countries across Asia. Under the framework of “POWERR Asia,” we will strengthen our support for strengthening the resilience of