P-Noy meets with Japanese prime minister

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – President Aquino held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday on the sidelines of the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit here.

The details of the bilateral meeting were not available as of press time.

The President’s meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung did not push through for lack of time as everyone had a tight schedule, officials said. 

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said Abbot had wanted to meet with ASEAN leaders since he just assumed office.

Aquino and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also did not have the chance to interact.

“There’s no scheduled interaction with Premier Li while we’re here. And the way that people’s schedules are so hectic and with meetings, there’s little chance that they will have a chance encounter,” Carandang earlier said.

Abe visited the Philippines in July and stressed the need for a region adhering to the “rule of law” and not a “region of intimidation.”

He said the Philippines and Japan are “strategic partners in substance” as both are embroiled in territorial disputes with China during that visit.

Abe said Japan had attached more and more importance to the Philippines as both countries “share a strategic interest” and cooperate to respond to issues nagging the Asia-Pacific region.

Aquino and Abe agreed to boost maritime and economic cooperation as both countries face security challenges with separate maritime disputes with China.

The meeting comes as tensions have steadily risen between China and Japan, which accuses its growing neighbor of sending an increasing number of ships to exert its claim over unpopulated Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.