Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Ferdinand Marcos agreed on May 28 to start formal negotiations to “delimit the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries … in order to enhance legal certainty in the region”, according to a joint statement.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Its coast guard has clashed repeatedly with that of the Philippines, sparking fears of an armed conflict.
Separately, coast guard vessels from both Japan and China routinely engage in standoffs around the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, islands that Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu.
Takaichi called China an “important neighbour” in a policy address on Monday and pledged to build a stable relationship between the rival nations.
Diplomatic relations between the Asian economic giants have been at rock bottom since Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo might intervene in any attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
