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Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Iwamoto Tsuyohito of Japan paid a courtesy call on Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino, Jr., Officer-in-Charge, Department of National Defense (DND) on Monday.

Iwamoto is visiting the Philippines from July 17-18. His itinerary includes courtesy calls on key Philippine defense and military officials as well as a visit to 525th Engineering Combat Battalion of the Philippine Army , a recipient of search and rescue equipment donation of Japan.

The two officials discussed overall Philippines-Japan defense relations and regional security concerns.

Both ministers reaffirmed that respect for international law and a rules based order is essential in maintaining peace and stability in the region, particularly in the South China Sea (SCS) and East China Sea (ECS).

On bilateral relations, Faustino recalled the successful conduct of the Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (2+2) between the Philippines and Japan in April 2022. Meanwhile, the Vice Minister noted that the meeting is a manifestation of the two countries’ growing bilateral strategic partnership.

In relation to this, both officials reaffirmed the outcomes of the 2+2 meeting, such as the further development of humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) cooperation and collaboration on transfer of defense equipment. Japan also expressed willingness to contribute and assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its capability upgrade program.

As to multilateral cooperation, both sides look forward to dialogue among the Philippines, Japan, and other partners, as well as continuous collaboration under the auspices of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus.

Iwamoto congratulated Faustino and mentioned that he looks forward to his appointment as Secretary of National Defense (SND) in November 2022. DND