Japan FM to visit Philippines for Coast Guard Ships in Spartlys

Japan Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida 

Kyodo reported yesterday as Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida lining up visit to Philippines to meet his counterpart Foreign Secretary del Rosario.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida plans to go to the Philippines in his first overseas trip as a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet, government sources said.

His visit, which could begin as early as Wednesday, has been arranged as part of Abe's efforts to strengthen Japan's ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a time when China is asserting its territorial and other claims in the region with increasing forcefulness.

Kishida is expected to discuss bilateral cooperation on maritime security, including the possible provision of coast guard vessels, with his Philippine counterpart, Alberto del Rosario.

The two are also likely to discuss strengthening a regional network of countries calling for the observance of international rules, including free passage in sea lanes, in the face of China's growing military and diplomatic clout in the East and South China seas.

The Abe administration, which was launched in late December after the Liberal Democratic Party won the Dec. 16 general election, embraces Japan's alliance with the U.S. as the cornerstone of its foreign policy.

At the same time, however, one of its central strategies is to boost Japan's leverage with China by strengthening security and energy cooperation, among other areas, with countries in Southeast Asia. It is also eager to forge closer ties with such countries as India and Australia.

Meanwhile, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the foundation of exchanges between Tokyo and ASEAN, with preparations under way to hold a special summit of the heads of the regional bloc's 10 member countries — the first event of its kind in a decade — in Japan this December. Kishida is expected to help smooth arrangements for the gathering during his visit to the Philippines. (http://is.gd/kCUy78)

Kyodo

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Philippines will phase-out 3.5 Million Tricycles to save EARTH & $5 Billion USD imported Gas yearly

Reported in the Environmental Protection Online, Philippine government will replace the Pedi-cab or the tricycles-taxis with Electronic Trikes.

The Philippines will be introducing electronic tricycle taxis to replace its petrol-fuelled models, which could cut carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter of million tons.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $300 million and The Philippines government will provide an additional $99 million to the project. Tricycle taxis are one of the Philippines' most widely used forms of transport for travelling short distances, but they are also responsible for more than two-thirds of air pollution.

The ADB estimates that there are 200,000 tricycles in the Manila metropolitan region alone, and about 3.5 million in the entire country. The tricycles use nearly $5 billion of imported fuel every year, produce about ten million tons of carbon dioxide, and are the biggest source of particulate pollution in urban areas. The World Bank estimates that the total economic burden of air pollution to the Philippines economy is more than $150 million each year.

The project aims to replace 100,000 petrol-fuelled tricycles with 'clean, energy efficient' electric tricycles (e-trikes) in a 'lease-to-own' arrangement.

'Every 20,000 e-Trikes that are introduced to Manila's streets will save the Philippines 100,000 liters of foreign fuel imports each day, worth US$35 million annually,' says the ADB's principal energy specialist, Sohail Hasnie

E-Trikes will use lithium-ion batteries, a form of battery widely used in consumer electronics such as mobile phones, which can be recharged 2,000 times before being replaced. A test run earlier this year showed that tricycle operators more than doubled their incomes when using e-Trikes.

'E-Trikes are a cleaner, greener transport solution for the Philippines and provide a better quality of life for tricycle drivers,' says Neeraj Jain, the ADB's country director for the Philippines. 'This project can help transform transportation in the Philippines and positions the country as a leader in electric vehicle development in Asia.'

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