The Philippine government will seek to further strengthen ties with Japan and ensure energy security amid the ongoing Middle East crisis during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to the East Asian country from 26 to 29 May.

In a media interview with members of the Japanese media attended by select members of the Malacañang Press Corps serving as observers, President Marcos said he would again engage Japan on cooperation involving energy and fuel supply.

“We are actually very grateful to Japan because Japan has been of great assistance to us in trying to find different solutions for the supply of the different kinds of fuel. And that has become a critical part of our policy,” the President said.

Marcos underscored Japan’s role in energy security following the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, where regional leaders tackled measures to secure electricity and fuel supplies, including establishing an oil reserve and a common ASEAN power grid.

He said Japan offered a response mechanism providing up to $10 billion in assistance through the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience, or POWERR Asia, launched by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in April.

The initiative aims to help Asian nations secure crude oil, diversify critical minerals and build sustainable zero-emission supply chains to shield economies from Middle East-related supply shocks.

RE adoption

“And we will again try to get more clarity on what the POWERR Asia system is that has been proposed by Prime Minister Takaichi. What does it mean in terms of linkages between our different countries, between the Philippines and Japan, and between all of the countries in the region?” Marcos said.

“So, it is extensively used for supply procurement, for supply chain maintenance, and for crude oil stockpiling capacity augmentation in Asia,” he added.

The President said work done within ASEAN and through bilateral cooperation during the crisis would eventually be institutionalized.

He added that the Philippines, ASEAN and Japan could also work together to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy to cushion the region from geopolitical shocks.

Meanwhile, Marcos said part of the discussions would focus on financial assistance for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

He said security cooperation would be a major agenda item during his meeting with Takaichi.

“I expect that we will be talking about many things, but of course, security cooperation will be a very important part of that discussion,” Marcos said.