Join the Stratbase ADR Institute on its webinar titled "Strengthening Partnerships Toward a Free and Open Indo-Pacific" o March 3, 2023, at 9:00 am, via Zoom.
Japan first presented its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) in 2016. It has since served as a framework for other Indo-Pacific strategies. With this collective goal in mind, states have continued to reaffirm their shared commitment to establishing a rules-based international order and effectively managing the region's complex security environment.
To maintain regional peace and stability, the Philippines has pursued an independent foreign policy aimed at maximizing diplomatic relations and alliances with like-minded states. It also draws on its longstanding strategic partnership with Japan, as demonstrated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s official visit to Japan in February 2023.
In 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) in response to the region's increasingly complex security challenges. Japan is set to strengthen its defense and security capabilities, including having counter-strike capabilities and increasing its defense budget, as part of redirecting the country's foreign and security policy principles.
With more security challenges on the horizon, the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan remains strong, based on cooperation in achieving Indo-Pacific peace and stability. While both countries deal with their own maritime issues, Japan has consistently backed the Philippines' 2016 arbitral victory in the West Philippine Sea. In addition, with the Philippines’ strong alliance with the United States and partnership with Japan, a trilateral security cooperation among them is proposed in the form of joint military exercises and humanitarian assistance and disaster response cooperation. This further strengthens cooperation among states amid the region's complex security environment
Through this event, the Institute seeks to provide a platform for experts and scholars to share their assessments and recommendations on the Philippines' independent foreign policy under the Marcos Jr.
