(TOKYO, Japan) President Benigno S. Aquino III addresses the joint session of the National Diet of Japan at the Chamber of the House of Councillors (HoC) of the National Diet during his State Visit on Wednesday (June 03). Also in photo are HoC President Masaaki Yamazaki and House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima. (Photo by Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau)
JUNE 4 (Eagle News) — President Aquino told members of Japan’s National Diet that a strong Philippine-Japanese partnership would be a vital counterbalance against regional instability created by conflicting claims in the South China Sea.
In his speech delivered before Japan’s National Diet, which is the country’s bicameral legislature, Aquino said the current economic and people-to-people engagement between the Philippines and Japan is a shining example of what can be achieved when peace and stability reign over the Asia-Pacific region.
“It is no wonder, then, that our two countries have become the most vocal defenders of that stability, which has recently come under threat,” he said.
The prosperity of maritime and coastal East and Southeast Asia, which relies greatly on the free movement of goods and peoples, could be disrupted by “attempts to redraw the geographic limits and entitlements outside those clearly bestowed by the law of nations,” he noted.
The President said the Philippines is following the Japanese Diet’s ongoing deliberations, particularly in view of “Japan taking a more proactive stance in fulfilling its responsibilities to the international community for the maintenance of peace.”
Both Japan and the Philippines, he said, constantly show willingness to dialogue, “bending over backwards to deescalate tensions despite repeatedly getting rebuffed, and still trying to resolve disagreements through peaceful means and internationally recognized norms.”
At the same time, Japan is one of only two countries in which the Philippines has a Strategic Partnership.
“We thus view our relationship as being at the forefront of ensuring freedom in our regional commons. Ours is a partnership that can only grow stronger, because it is based not on mere practicality, but on shared values and mutual respect among equals,” he told the members of the Diet.
“For both our nations, we know that harmony is a collective achievement, and not one that can be dictated through coercion. We steadfastly uphold that military might can never be the arbiter for the resolution of disagreements.”
The Diet is composed of the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives. Members of both houses are elected directly by the people.
The President’s speech at the Japanese Diet was part of his four-day state visit here. (with a report from PND)