Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. kicked off a five-day trip to Japan this week beginning Wednesday.

His visit was designed to put meat on the bones of the two countries’ “strategic partnership,” turning its potential into reality. Japan has long been a key partner of the Philippines, providing aid and investment, but leaders now seek a more comprehensive relationship — one with a more robust security dimension. They are succeeding.

In the seven months since he took office, Marcos has been an energetic diplomat, trying to recast his country’s international image after the six years during which Rodrigo Duterte was president, as Richard Javad Heydarian explained in our pages earlier this week.

Visiting Japan, he is knocking on an open door. Japan is the Philippines’ second biggest trading partner, exporting ¥1.19 trillion in goods and services to the Asian economic giant in 2021 while taking in ¥1.22 in Japanese imports.

Tokyo has long viewed the Philippines as a key partner within Southeast Asia. It is the leading investor in the Philippines, with $2.8 billion in investments between 2016 and 2022 alone. By 2021, there were 964 Japanese companies in the country that worked in various sectors such as manufacturing, information technology, facilities operation and logistics. In total, they have created jobs for over 350,000 Filipinos. Those investments have been instrumental in developing the nation’s economy, contributing to infrastructure and industrialization.

Japan has been the leading source of overseas development assistance to the Philippines as well, providing $11.2 billion worth of loans and grants. Not surprisingly, Filipinos have a high opinion of this country: A 2022 poll showed that nearly 80% of Filipinos trust Japan and it is consistently among Filipinos’ most favored international partners.

Marcos built on that foundation during his trip. He sought to boost infrastructure investments — always a priority — and collaboration on agriculture, defense, digital transformation, health care and renewable energy. With a reported 150 Filipino business people in his delegation and a sovereign wealth fund in the works, some $3 billion worth of deals were signed.

Tokyo promised to provide ¥600 billion in development aid and private-sector investment to the country. Priority projects include commuter railway and metro transit projects, key to easing the congestion that is a feature of daily life in the Philippines.

President Marcos also wants to expand the partnership. He has focused on security ties to add a “new element to our relationship.” Tokyo considers Manila to be a critical partner. The country sits astride the sea lanes that carry trillions of dollars of commerce annually, much of which is vital to the Japanese economy. The Philippines is also an ally of the United States, a relationship that facilitates cooperation and coordination with Japan.

Japan has worked with the Philippines to build capacity but those efforts focused on the coast guard, since it is considered a law enforcement agency and not the military. That lessened anxieties (and legal issues) surrounding any aid. The two governments previously agreed on the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project in October 2016, which resulted in the transfer of 10 multirole response vessels (MRRVs) by 2018.

Cooperation has accelerated. Last year, Japan and the Philippines launched a “two-plus-two” dialogue for their foreign and defense ministers to facilitate cooperation and policy coordination. Japan also transferred an air surveillance radar unit to the Philippines, the first such export under new rules that were revised to allow defense equipment to be shipped overseas under certain conditions. Japanese troops trained with U.S. and South Korean forces in the Philippines and later deployed two fighter jets for joint exercises with the Philippine Air Force.

This year, the Philippines received a 94-meter MRRV in January and a second is slated to be delivered mid-year. There are reportedly plans for Manila to acquire another five patrol vessels. All these moves have been signaled by Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS), which endorsed efforts to strengthen the military capabilities of like-minded countries.

Meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Thursday, Marcos declared that “our strategic partnership is stronger than ever as we navigate together, the rough waters buffeting our region.” Proof is the agreement to streamline procedures to allow troops to visit the other country, a deal that will facilitate training.

The work isn’t finished. The “terms of reference” for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces is a step toward conclusion of a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which makes it easier still for one country to send its military forces to another for exercises. Japan has recently concluded RAAs with Australia and the United Kingdom.

After their meeting, Kishida said “the two countries will also continue to study defense equipment and technology cooperation and ways to strengthen cooperation between Japan, the U.S. and the Philippines.” That reportedly includes new satellite communications systems as well as development of a support base for the Philippine Coast Guard.

Japan hopes to make the Philippines the recipient of its first security cooperation grant, another new program designed to fulfill the NSS mandate to help build capacity among regional partners. Details will be worked out as after the parliament passes legislation creating the initiative.

Marcos is repudiating the policies of Duterte, his predecessor in Malacanang Palace. Animus toward the U.S. pushed Duterte to pursue closer ties with China, an opportunity that Beijing seized. That introduced tensions into the U.S.-Philippines alliance and allowed China to expand its presence in the South China Sea.

Marcos has a more traditional foreign policy stance and made restoring defense ties with the U.S. a priority. Last week, Manila granted U.S. forces access to four additional military bases that will allow it to better prepare for and respond to a regional crisis. Closer ties with Japan are part of Marcos’ strategy to thicken the weave of security relations in the region and more tightly couple U.S. allies.

Like Japan, the Philippines must maintain a nuanced strategy toward China. It is a geographic fact of life; it will remain ever present, asserting its interests and weighing on Manila’s decision making.

Last month, Marcos visited China and met President Xi Jinping, securing $22.8 billion in investment pledges from Chinese companies. That relationship will remain an integral part of the Philippines economy. Japan cannot supplant it but it can provide a counterweight or balance to ensure that Beijing does not assume excess weight and to help reduce the Philippines’ dependence on China.

To be successful, Japan must partner with the Philippines — no matter who is the president — to improve the lives of that country’s citizens. The visit by Marcos marked significant progress in the bilateral relationship. More should follow.

The Japan Times Editorial Board