Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (left) and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi (right) (File photos) MANILA - Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday met with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi in Tokyo, ahead of the inaugural Philippines-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (2+2) scheduled on Saturday. "Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Minister Nobuo Kishi met in Tokyo on 07 April 2022. Having been able to meet twice through virtual channels due to the restrictions of the pandemic, this is the first time that both Ministers have met in person," said DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong in a statement Friday. During their meeting, both defense ministers exchanged views on the regional security environment and discussed ways to further enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation. "Secretary Lorenzana highlighted the Philippine position with regard to the situation in Ukraine and reiterated calls on all parties to resort to the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement on International Disputes," Andolong said. On the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), both defense chiefs agreed to further strengthen collaboration between Manila and Tokyo in order to address maritime security challenges. "Both sides also shared the same view that freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, as well as respect for international law should always be upheld in the said areas. The same view was also held by the two Ministers regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait," he added. Andolong said the two defense chiefs also called for the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. With regards to Myanmar, both officials highlighted the importance of the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. Both sides noted the increase in defense cooperation activities between the Philippines and Japan despite the coronavirus pandemic. They also agreed on the need to explore other frameworks of cooperation that would further expand defense relations between the two countries. "On multilateral cooperation, the two Ministers concurred on the significance of continuous cooperation under the ambit of the Asean Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus as well as other Asean dialogue platforms and the need to maintain Asean centrality. Both officials also discussed other prospects for trilateral cooperation with like-minded nations," Andolong said. He also added the meeting ended with a strong sense of commitment to further expand overall bilateral defense cooperation between the Philippines and Japan to include defense industry and logistics cooperation. (PNA) }