Japanese authorities have made it clear that they do not contemplate Taiwan's participation in the bilateral talks announced with the Philippines to establish a new delimitation of their maritime spaces.
In a press conference, Japanese government spokesperson Minoru Kihara stressed that any future pact on the maritime border would only "establish the rights and obligations of Japan and the Philippines," as reported by the Kyodo agency.
Tokyo has thus emphasized that such an understanding would have no international effects on Taiwan, underlining that the agreement "would not be legally binding on third parties."
In a summit held last week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discussed maritime disputes and China's territorial claims, and agreed to initiate a negotiation process to draw a maritime delimitation between the two countries.
After defining both Japan and the Philippines as "maritime democracies," both leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthening security in a region that is "open" and "governed by laws and not by force," in a context of growing tensions with China over maritime borders.
Although they do not share a direct border, Japan and the Philippines, as coastal states, can claim an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, about 370 kilometers from their coastlines, a maritime space that partially overlaps with Taiwan's economic zone.