President Marcos has lauded the Philippines' long-standing ties with Japan as he expressed optimism about their trilateral deal with the United States of America (USA), saying it would be beneficial to maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos said this as Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya presented his credentials to the President in Malacañan on Thursday, April 6.

According to the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines, President Marcos warmly welcomed the new Japanese envoy in the Palace and expressed confidence that the relationship that both countries share would further flourish.

"President Marcos Jr. extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Endo Kazuya and described our ties as strongest than ever," it wrote on Facebook.

"He also expressed confidence that our relationship will be elevated to greater heights with close cooperation under the leadership of Ambassador Endo," it added.

Ambassador Endo agreed with President Marcos that the strong, historical, traditional ties between the Philippines and Japan have strengthened further.

"[We’re] even prouder for the strength of our two nations and there are lot of things that we have to do whether in the security field or the economic field," Endo said.

"And our people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and when in the security field, we are working hard for the conclusion of the Reciprocal Access Agreement between the two nations," he added.

The Philippines and Japan celebrated 67 years of normalized relations on July 23, 2023, and 12 years of Strengthened Strategic Partnership since 2011.

Philippines-Japan-US deal

Meanwhile, President Marcos said the trilateral agreement between the Philippines Japan, and the USA is one of the building blocks of peace and stability that is good for the region.

The two nations are working to strengthen their trilateral engagements with the US, which include defense, economic, and technology, among others.

"These are building blocks that I think are good for the region, for our countries of course, but for the region," he said.

"Let’s just do the work to continue to keep the peace that is to make the most important part all of that we do," he added.

Macors stressed that when it comes to foreign policy and geopolitics, the most important thing was to "find a way to keep peace,” while responding to the actual situation on the ground.

"As I say this, keep the South China Sea an area as part of the world where there is freedom of navigation and trade," he said.

"That’s all we wish for and so we are happy that once we try to do that we have you as part of it," he added.

The President described Japan’s assistance to the Philippines in equipment and training as "very important," especially if complemented by support from other allies such as Australia, USA, Japan, and South Korea.

Japan remains one of the Philippines’ most dependable partners through various channels, including Official Development Assistance (ODA), maritime security, and trade and investments.

In February 2023, President Marcos traveled to Japan for an Official Visit and had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and an audience with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Kishida traveled to Manila in November 2023 for an official return visit.

In December last year, Marcos returned to Tokyo for the 50th ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.