Japan -Philippine Foreign Defense Minister Tokyo talks to strengthen defense cooperati

(Tokyo / Manila Composite Electric) Japan and the Philippines for the first time held Foreign Minister and the National Defense Minister "2+2" talks. The two countries agreed to strengthen defense cooperation at the meeting.

This talk was held in Tokyo on Saturday. Japanese Foreign Minister Lin Fang said after the meeting: "The two countries pay close attention to the situation of the East China Sea and the South China Sea. We agree to ensure that international laws are obtained.The arbitration results obtained. "

For a long time, Japan and China have island disputes, resource competitions and military struggles in the East China Sea; the Philippines has sovereignty disputes with China in the South China Sea. China claims to have the sovereignty of almost the entire South China Sea.In 2016, the lawsuit filed by the former Philippines Aquino government decided to determine that China has no legal basis for the sovereignty of the South China Sea.

Lin Fangzheng said that in the talks, Japan and the Philippines confirmed to further strengthen cooperation, facing regional and international challenges, and moving towards the Pacific region of India to achieve freedom and opening up.He revealed that the scope of cooperation includes ensuring the safety of Southeast Asian channels, expanding joint military exercises and exchanges.

Japan and the Philippines signed an agreement in January 2015 to agree to establish a more close defense relationship.Since then, the two sides have conducted nearly 20 maritime joint military exercises, and in 2021, the two countries have also held joint air force exercises.

Japan's Defense Minister Anxinfu, Philippine Foreign Minister Locin, and Defense Director Lorenzana also attended the meeting.The two countries' defense ministers met on Thursday and agreed to further strengthen security cooperation through joint military exercises.

In addition, the Philippine President's Office also issued a statement saying that President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked for an hour on Friday.The statement pointed out that "the two leaders emphasized that they must do their best to maintain peace, security and stability of the South China Sea." In order to achieve this goal, the two countries must "maintain restraint, eliminate tension atmosphere, and formulate a set of mutual recognition for functional cooperation.Mechanisms".