Balanced News: Philippines’ Marcos visits Japan amid geopolitical, regional tensions

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in Japan for a four-day working visit to boost investment and defense ties. This visit comes days after Manila agreed to give U.S. forces greater access to military bases amid Chinese threats to Taiwan. The main focus of the visit is expected to be economic, with Tokyo pledging to invest billions of pesos in the Philippines. Marcos is also expected to witness the signing of at least seven key agreements focusing on infrastructure development, defense, agriculture and information and communications technology. While in Japan, Marcos’ office said his team would work on further strengthening “the bonds of friendship with a close neighbor, like-minded and future-oriented like us in many ways, and a most reliable partner in times of both crises and prosperity.”