Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will discuss Japan’s evolving defense and security posture at a meeting next week with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in talks that are also likely to involve another subject that has garnered headlines in recent days: Taiwan.
Marcos, who is due to travel to Japan for a four-day state visit from May 26, said during an interview with Japanese media on Monday that while the Philippines doesn’t want to be involved in any war over Taiwan, his country would likely be forced to join given its proximity to the democratic island.
“I think in Japan’s case, it is more a matter of choice to be involved (in any potential conflict over Taiwan). In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines, and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said.
