The Philippines’ Engagement with Japan: A Steady and Deepening Strategic Partnership

Author: Mico A. Galang

Published: 24 March 2026

ISEAS Perspective 2026

 

 

In a speech delivered in August 2025, President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr reiterated his earlier observation that amidst the evolving “multipolar world”, the “continuing strategic competition” among the great powers has permeated the “evolving regional landscape and creates dilemmas that weigh on the strategic choices of regional states”. Such rivalry is “contributing to a more tense geopolitical landscape, with regional flashpoints potentially serving as tinderboxes for conflict”. In this context, the Marcos Jr government has placed the dispute in the South China Sea (SCS) as a top security concern.

 

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