Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) — President Rodrigo Duterte said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is still looking forward to his visit to Tokyo before the next ASEAN Summit in November.
In an interview in Subic, Zambales Sunday, Duterte said the Japanese government understood the postponement of the scheduled trip in the wake of the Marawi crisis.
“They understood the last time that I was facing quite a serious problem here, but the prime minister is still hopeful that I could make the visit before the ASEAN Summit,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed the postponement on Tuesday. Duterte was scheduled to have bilateral talks with Abe on defense cooperation.
Duterte was in Zambales to visit the helicopter carrier JP Izumo, one of two Japanese naval ships docked at the Alava Pier at Subic port for a four-day goodwill visit.
Duterte said in a talk with Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, he raised the issue of crafting a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea.
“I think I will be sending Cayetano on several missions because I really want the conduct of the sea, code of conduct of the seas passed during the ASEAN heads of state meeting here,” he said.
China and ASEAN agreed upon the framework for the COC in May. ASEAN leaders are tageting approval of the rules-based deal during the 31st Summit in Clark, Pampanga.
This is a significant development in the 15-year process of drafting a legally binding code for claimants in the disputed waters.
