JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER CONGRATULATES DUTERTE

JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER CONGRATULATES DUTERTE

In a 30-minute meeting with Katsuyuki Kawai, Special Advisors of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe handed a letter of congratulations to our beloved President-elect Rodrigo Duterte from Abe.

Abe congratulate the president and express support to elevate the International Arbitral Tribunal the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

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In a press conference at the Japanese embassy, Kawai said that “On the South China Sea issue, I said that Japan has been constantly supporting the Philippines’ use of arbitral tribunal which respects the rule of law and pursues the peaceful resolution through arbitration,”.

Japan and Duterte share the same view that the ruling of the arbitral tribunal is very important. Freedom of navigation must be maintained, and Japan and the Philippines should promote cooperation in security accoring to Kawai.


The G7 Leaders’ Declaration, by the leadership of Abe, reaffirms the importance of seeking to settle disputes by peaceful means, including arbitration as explanation of Kawai. 

“I personally talked with your president-elect that regarding the South China Sea issue, I personally think that a multilateral dialogue will be very important and very beneficial for all the countries which are engaged in that issue. That’s my personal opinion, which I told him yesterday,” He added.

“Japan has been committed to the Mindanao peace process and that Japan will continue to support it.” as per Kawai.

“I also conveyed the prime minister’s message that he would like to deepen the current good relations with the upcoming Duterte administration not only for the sake of our two countries, but also for the sake of the whole Indo-Pacific region,” Kawai said.

Our beloved President-elect Rodrigo Duterte expressed an appreciation for Abe’s message. Duterte said that Japan has been an old friend of the Philippines and he, too, would like to deepen the good relations with Japan.

In addition, Kawai also met yesterday with incoming Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.