Japanese aid could help RP against terrorism

TOKYO (AFP) – President Arroyo called yesterday Japan’s continued economic aid to her country and the region a "vital weapon" in fighting political uncertainty, poverty and terrorism.

"Make no mistake. The yen is mightier than the sword," she told a news conference here hours before holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Mrs. Arroyo arrived Monday on a three-day state visit expected to focus on her request that Tokyo raise its annual loan package to Manila for the coming Japanese fiscal year by about 8.8 percent to roughly $617 million.

Japan’s loan package for the current year is worth some $567 million.

"My overall platform links the global war against terrorism with my mission of eliminating poverty," Mrs. Arroyo told the Japan National Press Club during her third trip to Japan since she took office in January 2001.

"Japan’s aid is important as a vital weapon in securing regional stability and security," she said, adding that the aid was as important as military cooperation in coping with political uncertainty, poverty and terrorism.

She said Japan’s development assistance was "crucial in the regional fight against poverty" which was fomenting terrorism.

But Mrs. Arroyo downplayed Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s remarks on Sunday that he would not rule out a pre-emptive strike against foreign-based terrorists if they were known to be planning to attack his country.

On Tuesday, the Philippine foreign ministry said the comment had laid Australia open to accusations that it harbors "hegemonic ambitions."

But Mrs. Arroyo dismissed Howard’s remarks as hypothetical. "I don’t think that it is time now to give a reaction in one way or another to a hypothetical declaration."

Instead, she stressed the importance of international cooperation in fighting terrorism as a "global threat."

"The Philippines has taken an aggressive position in the fight against terrorism," she said, adding that terrorists should be sought out before they "destroy our way of life."

She said her government’s operations to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf, a group of Muslim guerrilla kidnappers, had produced results.

The network, based in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, allegedly has links to the al-Qaeda terror network.

She said the Abu Sayyaf’s threat had been diminished and the group would find it difficult to launch an "extensive coordinated military attack."

On economic links with Japan, she said her country was seeking a comprehensive partnership, not only based on the principle of supply and demand but also covering "many areas of complementarity."

She said the Philippines could provide young health workers to look after Japan’s growing proportion of elderly as well as skilled workers to help the country’s hi-tech and capital-intensive industry.

China’s emergence as a partner of Southeast Asia remained high on her agenda, Mrs. Arroyo said, and she welcomed the country’s new leadership and the formal adoption last month by Beijing of an economic policy linked to market forces.

China’s admission to the World Trade Organization a year ago had provided many business opportunities for the Philippines as the communist giant plays by global rules, she said.

"Having said that. I believe today the major player in our region is still Japan" as it accounted for half of the region’s economy, she added.