Philippine government ministers met with a top adviser of Japan's prime minister on Wednesday, in a effort to move forward major infrastructure projects, just hours after a visit by the Chinese president pledging to do the same.
Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte has made a $180 billion infrastructure overhaul the centerpiece of his economic policy agenda, but already into the third year of his presidency, he is under some pressure to show signs that his ambitious "Build, Build, Build" program is making much progress.
While attention has been focused largely on fanfare of Duterte's "pivot" to China and his frequent praise for Beijing's economic support, agreed to Japanese loans so far dwarf those of China, which has pledged billions of dollars of financing and investment for projects that are still largely ideas.