Japan, Philippines oppose changing status quo in regional seas

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Friday with the visiting Philippine foreign and defense secretaries that they oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas, in a veiled reference to an assertive China.In a meeting at his office with Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Kishida said Japan hopes to work with the Philippines to realize a "free and open" Indo-Pacific, and they agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in such fields as security, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.Kishida sa…READ FULL ARTICLE