Abe’s PH visit more beneficial for Japan: analyst

MANILA – The visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Philippines is more beneficial for Japan since Tokyo is moving towards a more stable and secured position in the region, an analyst said.

Historian and University of the Philippines-Diliman Professor Ricardo Jose thinks Japan gained more during Abe’s visit since they are in need of more allies due to their rivalries with China and South Korea.

“They (Japan) need allies and support and the West Philippine Sea is very strategic to them because most of the Japanese ships bringing oil from the Middle East pass through that area,” Jose said in an interview on ANC’s “Dateline Philippines.”

Japan, at this point, “cannot afford to alienate themselves” from the Philippines with its stringent competition against China and South Korea in the electronics business.

“It’s a mutually beneficial thing for them to give all these aid, improve their position here, have a good relationship with the Philippines and I think they were also worried when the President went to China and they did not know what to do,” Jose added.

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