Philippines Eyes $100 Billion In Investment Deals From US, Japan

The Philippines is eyeing around $100 billion in investment deals in the next five to 10 years from the country’s trilateral summit with the United States and Japan, the presidential office said in a statement, quoting its ambassador to Washington.

The investments would cover a range of different sectors including energy and digital infrastructure, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said, quoting Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manual Romualdez.

“We’re talking about a hundred billion in investments in the next five to ten years,” the PCO said, quoting Romualdez.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is in Washington for a first-of-a-kind trilateral meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a significant strengthening of their military alliance on Wednesday, pledging increased cooperation and a new missile defense system to address aggressive actions by China and Russia.

“This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established,” Biden said at a joint White House news conference with Kishida after about two hours of talks focused on the Indo-Pacific region, Ukraine, and the Gaza conflict.

Kishida emphasised their unified stance, stating, “Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion is absolutely unacceptable, wherever it may be.” He warned, “Regarding Russia’s aggression of Ukraine… Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”

The announcements brought the two former World War Two enemies into their closest collaboration since becoming allies decades ago. Biden said their militaries would operate under a joint command structure, and together with Australia, they would develop a new air missile defence network.

A joint summit statement after the Biden-Kishida meet outlined plans for new military command-and-control frameworks to enable greater interoperability and contingency planning. They also intend to upgrade defence communications networks and network air defence capabilities between the U.S., Australia, and Japan to counter air and missile threats.

Source: Reuters