(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
At the outset, I have an announcement regarding my overseas visits during Golden Week. Next week, from May 3 (Sunday) to May 7 (Thursday), I will visit Indonesia and the Philippines and hold a defense ministerial meeting with Defence Minister Sjafrie and Defense Secretary Teodoro, respectively. Defence Minister Sjafrie and I have coordinated closely following the Japan-Indonesia Defense Ministerial Meeting held on the margins of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) last November. We also held a meeting at Narita Airport on April 16. I am very happy to be able to visit Indonesia not long after our previous meeting. During the visit, taking into account the progress of bilateral defense cooperation and exchanges in recent years, the two sides will sign a Defence Cooperation Arrangement with a view to further expanding the scope of cooperation in the future. Building on our previous meetings, I intend to hold intensive discussions with Minister Sjafrie regarding future substantive cooperation, including cooperation in defense equipment and technology. With Secretary Teodoro of the Philippines, I highly look forward to holding an in-person defense ministerial meeting, following the Japan-Australia-Philippines-U.S. Defense Ministers’ Meeting held on the margins of ADMM-Plus last November and the Japan-Philippines Defense Ministers’ Video Teleconference. Steady progress has been made in bilateral cooperation, including the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) last September and the signing of the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) in January. At the upcoming meeting, I intend to hold in-depth discussions with Secretary Teodoro on further strengthening the cooperation between Japan and the Philippines and on future concrete cooperation, including cooperation in defense equipment and technology. In the Philippines, Exercise Balikatan 2026, a large-scale multilateral combined training hosted by the U.S. and the Philippines, has commenced. This exercise is participated by the U.S.’s land-based Tomahawk missile, the Philippines’ BrahMos missile, and Japan’s surface-to-ship missile, which demonstrates the significant advancement made in the response capabilities of allies and like-minded partners. In addition, approximately 19,000 troops are participating in total. Japan is participating for the first time following the entry into force of the RAA, sending approximately 1,400 troops, which is approximately ten times more than last year’s approximately 140 troops. This symbolizes the deepening of cooperation between Japan and its ally and like-minded countries. In this exercise, Japan will participate in field training, including the firing of a surface-to-ship missile for the first time in the Philippines. On this occasion, I will observe this training and confirm the outcomes of the new first step toward strengthening cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. Both Indonesia and the Philippines are strategically important countries situated in key points on Japan’s sea lanes and, as fellow maritime nations, are essential partners for strengthening defense cooperation. Through these visits, I intend to further develop our defense cooperation relationships with Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. That concludes my opening remarks.