Defense cooperation and energy security are set to top the agenda for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s upcoming state visit to Japan, where he is scheduled to hold critical bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi next week.
Speaking at a Malacañang roundtable discussion with Japanese media on Monday, Marcos confirmed that regional safety and strategic partnerships will take center stage during his official visit from May 26 to 29.
”I expect that we will be talking about many things, but of course, security cooperation will be a very important part of that discussion,” Marcos said.
Operationalizing Defense Pacts
A key priority of the dialogue will be the concrete implementation of defense frameworks established earlier this year. Marcos noted that both nations need to finalize the operational details of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) signed last January.
”First of all, what we have agreed upon is the reciprocal access agreement, for example, and the acquisition and cross-servicing agreement that was signed last January. We want, I’m sure, we are going to discuss those to fully implement those agreements,” the President stated.
The Chief Executive expressed keen interest in understanding Tokyo’s evolving defense posture to better align mutual strategies. He highlighted Japan’s historic, debut participation in the recent Balikatan exercises as a major milestone for military interoperability and joint training.
Furthermore, Marcos plans to seek continued Japanese support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program. This includes maximizing Tokyo’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) for radar systems, technology transfers, intelligence sharing, and personnel training, while reaffirming both nations’ shared commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Securing Regional Energy Lines
Beyond defense, the state visit will heavily address volatile global fuel supplies disrupted by ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Marcos emphasized the need to collaborate with Japan as it assumes a more proactive stance on regional energy stability.
”We will again try to engage Japan and to see how it will work together with Japan, as Japan has now taken a more active role when it comes to the subject of energy and the energy supply,” Marcos explained.
”We are actually very grateful to Japan because Japan has been of great assistance to us in trying to find different solutions for the supply of the different kinds of fuel. And that has become a critical part of our policy,” he added.
The energy talks follow crucial state discussions at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, where Southeast Asian leaders explored emergency measures like regional oil stockpiling and an interconnected ASEAN power grid.
Marcos intends to secure more details regarding the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia) initiative—a $10 billion response mechanism launched by Prime Minister Takaichi in April. The framework is designed to help Asian nations secure crude oil, diversify critical minerals, and build zero-emission supply chains to buffer economies from geopolitical shocks.
”And we will again try to get more clarity on what the POWERR Asia system that has been proposed by Prime Minister Takaichi. What does it mean in terms of linkages between our different countries, between the Philippines and Japan, and between all of the countries in the region?” Marcos said.
”So it is extensively used for supply procurement, for supply chain maintenance, and for crude oil stockpiling capacity augmentation in Asia,” the President concluded.