Japan offers Duterte aid for rebuilding, fighting terrorism
TOKYO — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won pledges from Japan of help with fighting terrorism and assistance in building the country’s crumbling infrastructure, as he met with Japan’s prime minister on Monday during a visit to the country.
Japan promised its support in the reconstruction of the strife-torn southern Philippine city of Marawi. A military campaign recently ended a five-month siege of the city by Islamic State group-aligned militants that left more than 1,100 combatants and civilians dead.
“I fully support your fight against terrorism, and will continue to offer you as much assistance as possible,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Duterte.
The two leaders also agreed to co-operate on various projects, including a subway system for metropolitan Manila, the traffic-jammed capital, energy development, maritime safety and the Philippines’ fight against drugs and drug trafficking.