Marcos to hold bilateral meetings with Ishiba in Laos
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will meet newly-elected Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Related Summits on October 9-11 in Vientiane, Laos.
Ishiba replaced Fumio Kishida this week following an election in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week.
Assistant Foreign Affairs Secretary Daniel Espiritu said this is the first meeting between Marcos and Ishiba, a former defense minister.
Espiritu said Marcos would be congratulating Ishiba ''on his assumption as Prime Minister.''
'' They would be discussing other issues of mutual concern of course trade and investment cooperation and defense cooperation,'' said Espiritu.
Marcos will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of Canada, New Zealand and Vietnam.
Espiritu said Marcos '' will continue to defend the Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). DMS
