DFA, Japan Embassy Host Maritime Security and International Law Seminar

MANILA, 02 March 2022 – In collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Manila, the DFA-Office of Maritime and Ocean Affairs organized a seminar on “Maritime Security and International Law” with Professor Kentaro Furuya of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and the Japan Coast Guard Academy presenting on the experience of Japan in policing and protecting its maritime domain.

Participants included the member agencies of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), who benefitted from Japan’s perspective on the maritime security environment in the East China Sea, specifically the measures taken by the Japan Coast Guard in mechanizing international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to protect its territorial sea.

Japan added that its effort to exercise a rules-based order in its maritime domain is a combination of police power, led by the Japanese Coast Guard, and the enforcement of territorial integrity exercised by Japan’s Self Defense Force, which is complemented by international support and security alliances.

Professor Furuya underscored the importance of UNCLOS in guiding Japan’s responses to its maritime issues, and exercising patience until diplomatic solutions are achieved, encouraging the Philippines to consider the same.

MOAO Assistant Secretary Maria Angela A. Ponce thanked Professor Furuya for his presentation, and the Embassy of Japan for organizing the session, with the assurance that the DFA stands ready to widen its engagement on maritime issues with the Japanese government and other potential partners “in identifying common challenges, expand our perspectives and examining various approaches to utilizing UNCLOS to protect our interests.”

The seminar on maritime security and international law is just the first of many activities being organized by the Embassy of Japan to highlight the deep bilateral cooperation on maritime issues between the governments of the Philippines and Japan. END