Philippine Senators Invite Japanese PM To Address Joint Congress

Philippine Lawmakers invited Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to speak before a joint session of the Congress following a recent Tokyo meeting where leaders of both countries discussed a "strategic partnership" amid the dispute on the West Philippine Sea.

If he obliges to the invitation, Kishida would become the first foreign leader who will address both chambers of the congress in a joint session.

"On a daily basis, our Philippine Coast Guard records cases of harassment from foreign actors, which is depriving our country of its sovereign right to use its exclusive economic zone," Senate President Miguel Zubiri said in a statement dated Wednesday.

Zubiri and 10 other senators - Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, Sonny Angara, Imee Marcos, Pia Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, Lito Lapid and Mark Villar held discussions with Kishida on Wednesday as part of the lawmakers' official parliamentary visit to Tokyo. In the meeting, Kishida expressed plans to make an official visit to the Philippines.

In the statement, Zubiri said the visit "comes at an opportune time right when the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan is evolving to even higher levels, as we adapt to the heightened global security situation, particularly the continuing maritime tensions, in our region."

Japan was one of the countries which supported the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which upheld the Philippines' claim to its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) within the West Philippine Sea. The landmark victory nullified China's 1940 nine-dash line map in the South China Sea. Other countries that expressed support for the Philippines are the U.S., United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand and Timor Leste.

Aside from supporting the international ruling, Japan also provided the Philippines with modern ships and other equipment including radars for territorial waters and air space monitoring.

In February, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. returned from a fruitful visit to Japan where the signing of several economic agreements was held. These include loan agreements for the construction of railway extension projects, crafting of Terms of Reference for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Cooperation (HADR), Agriculture project partnerships, and assistance in the field of Information and Communications Technology.

In the February meeting, Zubiri also raised the idea of exploring a Philippines-Japan Visiting Forces Agreement to boost the interoperability of both countries' armed forces.