A DELEGATION of Philippine senators on Tuesday met with their counterparts in the Japanese Diet to boost bilateral relations between Manila and Tokyo.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who led the Philippine delegation in Tokyo, Japan, said their meeting with the Japanese Philippine Parliamentarians Friendship League headed by chairman Moriyama Hiroshi focused on trade and industry, tourism, disaster management, and defense and security, among others.
Zubiri was joined by Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara, Imee Marcos, Pia Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, Mark Villar; and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano
Zubiri thanked Japan for providing vital assistance in response to the oil spill in Mindoro Oriental due to the sinking of MT Princess Empress on February 28. Japan’s Disaster Relief Expert Team, including oil control experts from the Japanese Coast Guard were among the first responders to the oil spill incident.
The Senate President also expressed gratitude to Japan for extending assistance to the Philippines through various loans and grants, and the delivery of air surveillance radar systems to the Department of National Defense, with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force also providing trainings for the Philippine Air Force in handling and operating the system.
“Japan’s support has been a major boost to our defense system. And I am hopeful that we can move forward with the Japan-Philippines Access Agreement as well, as Japan has done with the United Kingdom and Australia,” Zubiri said.
It can be recalled that Zubiri last February expressed his support for the Philippines and Japan to forge a Visiting Forces Agreement.
For his part, Moriyama said the Japanese government plans to further develop its defense cooperation efforts in the country with the full support of the parliament.
