From 5 to 7 November 2025, Japan was represented by Ambassador Endo Kazuya and Japan Coast Guard Vice Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Hiroaki Kanosue, both attending the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea as panelists.

On 6 November, Ambassador Endo joined the session “The South China Sea as Global Commons”, engaging with the Ambassadors of Australia, Canada, France, and Germany. Discussions focused on each country’s perspective on the South China Sea’s strategic significance and its future outlook. Ambassador Endo emphasized that developments in the South China Sea are directly linked to regional peace and stability, reaffirming the responsibility of nations to maintain its stability, uphold a rules-based maritime order under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and support a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Kanosue participated in the session “Maritime Capacity-Building for a Rule-based, Equitable and Sustainable Maritime Order in the Indo-Pacific” alongside Philippine Coast Guard Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Rommel A. Supangan and other officers on November 7. The discussion highlighted the efforts and achievements of coast guard agencies across multiple countries in maintaining maritime order. VADM Kanosue stressed that the world is connected by the seas and that a maritime order based on the rule of law is essential for regional and global peace and prosperity. He also reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific through strengthened international cooperation.

Japan’s participation at the Manila Dialogue underscored its ongoing role in promoting regional maritime stability, international collaboration, and adherence to the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.