NSA Año Meets With Commandant Admiral Ishii Shohei of Japan Coast Guard
NSA Eduardo Año (left) presents a token of appreciation to Admiral ISHII Shohei
On 16 June 2023, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año met with Japan Coast Guard Commandant Admiral ISHII Shohei on the margins of the Philippines-Japan-US National Security Advisers’ Trilateral Meeting. NSA Año and Admiral Ishi discussed matters of mutual interest and ways to strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation. The meeting marked another important step towards enhancing the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan.
During the meeting, National Security Adviser Año thanked Admiral Ishii Shohei for the Japan Coast Guard’s timely assistance to the Philippines to contain the Mindoro oil spill. He also highlighted the recently concluded trilateral Coast Guard exercises, emphasizing that these exercises are important to maintain peace, stability, and the rule of law in the maritime domain, as well as enhance capabilities and interoperabilities among the three countries’ Coast Guard services.
The Philippines and Japan have regular Coast Guard exchanges, and a very active program for capacity-building, guided by the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two Coast Guards. The Philippines and Japan also realized the project for the delivery of twelve multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) to the Philippines under a JICA-funded program, as part of the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Projects Phases I and II.
