Philippines’ Marcos says open to military access pact with Japan

Marcos Jr meeting Kishida (right) during his visit to Tokyo on Feb 9. - Reuters

MANILA (Bloomberg): Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he’s open to a potential reciprocal military access agreement with Japan if it would protect the country’s fishermen and its maritime territory.

"I don’t see why we should not adopt it,” Marcos said, according to a transcript of his interview with reporters on his flight back on Sunday (Feb 12) from a five-day official visit to Japan. The Philippines is studying if the potential pact will indeed help the country and won’t intensify tensions in the South China Sea.