A two-day visit by Japan's foreign minister to the Philippines appears to be part of a well-coordinated diplomatic offensive by Tokyo to strengthen ties with other Asian countries amid tensions with China.
Fumio Kishida's meetings yesterday with President Benigno Aquino and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, comes as both countries are engaged with separate maritime disputes with Beijing.
Kishida's mission to Manila follows a recent trip by Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso to Myanmar, a close economic partner of China, with pledges to waive debt and extend new loans. Kishida will also visit Singapore, Brunei and Australia.
Next week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make his first overseas trip since winning office to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Japan's top government spokesman said it was not aimed at counter-balancing China's influence in the region.
"China is an important country for Japan," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, stressing the strategic nature of Japan's bilateral ties with the world's second largest economy.
But Beijing may view such diplomatic overtures with suspicion, considering what emerged from Kishida's Manila meetings.
There were pledges for loans on a railway project that would extend Metro Manila's urban railway to outlying provinces and the construction of a new airport on the resort island of Bohol.