President Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida affirmed their commitment to resolve maritime conflicts through peaceful negotiations.

"As leaders of like-minded states, we affirm our commitment to peaceful negotiations to resolve maritime conflicts, and the need for a stable and secure environment, for mutually inclusive growth and development for our peoples," Marcos said in his statement after their bilateral talks held on Friday night, Nov. 3.

Security and defense were among the "wide-ranging" discussions Marcos and Kishida were able to cover during their one-hour bilateral meeting at the Malacañan Palace.

"We had a very productive and insightful discussion that covered many important aspects of
our bilateral relations and how we can further work together to reach our full potential," Marcos said.

"Our talks have been wide ranging covering political, security, defense, trade and investment, development, and people-to-people ties," Marcos added.

The President stressed that these wide ranging discussions are manifestations of how robust the 67-year bilateral relations of both countries are.

"Our official engagements with Japan have expanded in the past decades to include cooperation between and among our coast guards as well as our armed forces," he said.

Key agreements between the two countries were signed during the bilateral meeting.

Marcos reported that they signed the Exchange of Notes on the Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA) for the Acquisition of Construction Equipment for Road Network Improvement / Implementation and Disaster Quick Response Operation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region [in] Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

According to Marcos, this grant amounting to JPY 957 million or $6 million will significantly contribute to mitigating the impact of flooding aggravated by climate change in the Bangsamoro region.

They also signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on the mining sector between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

They have also concluded and signed the Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Tourism between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.

The President also noted that the two countries had exchanged notes on the Official Security Assistance (OSA) from Japan to the Philippines, which will further enhance the military capacities of both countries.

"The OSA grant worth JPY 600 million or around P235 million will help boost the efforts of our Department of National Defense (DND) [by] securing coastal radars for our armed forces to enhance [their] maritime domain awareness capability and maritime security," Marcos said.

"I also would like to recall our commitment to work on a framework for our status of visiting forces or the proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement, RAA, with Japan. We are cognizant of the benefits of having this arrangement, both to our defense and military personnel and to maintaining peace and stability in our region," the Chief Executive further said.

Marcos also thanked Japan for its commitment to the Philippines to attain Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC) status by 2025 in line with our Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028, for the Japan-funded Metro Manila Subway Project, and the development of the North-South Commuter Railway and its extension.