The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) warmly welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the Philippines and hails his address to the Joint Session of the Philippine Congress. We trust that this visit solidifies the renewed commitment and revitalized cooperation between the Philippines and Japan, especially in defense and development, towards a regime of peace and prosperity in our region, between our nations, and our respective peoples.
Drawing lessons from our history forged by the dark chapter of the Second World War, we have faith that the Philippines and Japan, together with all our friends, partners, and allies, will stand united to ultimately vanquish the specter of open aggression, conflict, and hostility that threatens our area of the world. Unless this escalation in aggression is deterred, we fear that such may ultimately claim innocent lives, threaten to disrupt livelihoods, and bring about a descent of our region into the abyss.
Such aggression has unleashed destruction in the world in the past and sadly is resurgent in many regions today. This, unfortunately, continues to haunt the Philippines thereby necessitating a staunch alliance between the Philippines and Japan building from the reconciliation and eventual friendship that emerged from the ashes of war.
We look upon the visit of Prime Minister Kishida as a new beginning for both our nations to build on our mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reinforce our common respect and observance of international law. We call on all other nations in the region to follow this path towards peaceful co-existence in the world.
In the face of demeaning Chinese aggression that is an affront not only to our national sovereignty but to the rules-based international order, we fully support efforts to ensure and expand an ironclad security alliance between the Philippines and Japan, alongside our other allies, as a major plank to deter further escalation of aggression in what we have seen in our territorial waters: the use of military-grade laser lights and water-cannons against Philippine vessels, emplacement of water barriers, and lately, dangerous maneuvers, with frontal battering rams directed towards our vessels. This is also in the context of illegal fishing that threatens our food security, and environmental degradation by the Chinese Coast Guard and militia, risking the lives and livelihood of our very own Philippine Coast Guard and fisherfolk.
We believe that Japanese Prime Minister Kishida will echo our resounding call to the nations of the world to assert the 2016 ruling of the International Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague that already debunked and set aside contrarian claims in the West Philippine Sea under the guise of ‘historical rights’ which have no basis in law and in fact. We repeat here: “The West Philippine Sea is Ours.” Together with our friends, partners, and allies, we are eager to work hand-in-hand towards an effective Code of Conduct for stability in the West Philippine Sea through freedom of navigation and mutually beneficial global cooperation and trade.
Complementing defense aid to ensure the economic recovery and growth of the Philippines, Filipino workers and their families are further hopeful that Prime Minister Kishida’s state visit will signal an intensified focus on bringing in Japanese foreign direct investments as well as reinvigorated official development assistance (ODA) to support the Marcos Administration’s priority ‘Build, Better, More’ infrastructure projects. More foreign investments translate to hundreds of thousands of new, permanent, and decent jobs with security of tenure and living wages. More ODA attention and assistance will help in realizing the TUCP-proposed national railway system connecting regional and provincial agri-industrial hubs that will further create new jobs, ensure food security, decongest urban metropolitan areas, and democratize wealth creation by promoting rural development and job generation by bringing down the cost of doing business in our provinces.
As we welcome Japan Prime Minister Kishida’s pledges for more defense aid, trade opportunities, and development assistance, we look forward to Japan and our friends, partners, and allies walking the talk to follow through on their respective landmark commitments to the Philippines, because actions ultimately speak louder than words in upholding our shared goals and values for the cause of global and regional peace and stability, inclusive prosperity, and social equity.
