By Priam Nepomuceno/ PNA
MANILA — Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) chief of staff, Gen. Koji Yamazaki, and his party formally paid a visit to Philippine Army (PA) commander, Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City Monday.
The purpose of the visit is to reinforce the two country’s strategic partnership and exchange insights on mutual interests.
The Philippines and Japan signed the Memorandum on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges in January 2015.
The agreement is meant to provide a framework for defense cooperation between the two defense ministries and their respective armed forces.
On June 8, 2015, the Philippine Army – Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Terms of Reference was signed, strengthening the friendly relations and cooperation while promoting open discussion of subjects of mutual interest for both armies.
As a result, the PA-JGSDF Working Group was established as a platform for both armies to plan or develop bilateral engagements that will enhance capabilities, interoperability and promote discussions of topics which are of mutual interest or mutually beneficial.
Yamazaki started his military career in 1983 as an army engineer later holding various key positions in the engineer field of specialization of the JGSDF. He served as 9th Division commanding general in 2014 and Northern Army head in 2016 before assuming the position of JGSDF chief of staff in 2017.
The two army chiefs expressed both their nation’s willingness to continue the exchange of information as both countries recognize each other’s expertise particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The JGSDF chief also recognized the PA’s counter-terrorism efforts during the Marawi siege and the leadership decisions that helped resolve the crisis.
“My visit implies that my country recognizes the Philippines as a significant strategic partner in East Asia,” Yamazaki said.
“I’m very honored to be here to strengthen our bilateral relations,” he added.
For his part, Alberto said he is optimistic that the visit of the JGSDF chief will boost the bilateral cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.
“Both armies can learn from each other’s experiences in terms of counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster response through the conduct of training exchanges. We will continue the cooperation with renewed vigor in order to better tackle the various security challenges that both our countries are facing,” he added.
