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TOKYO (AP) - President Gloria Arroyo urged Japan Thursday to play a greater role in maintaining international peace and security, while commending Tokyo's recent thaw in ties with Asia's other major power -- China.

"The Philippines ... joins well-meaning allies in strongly encouraging Japan to expand her present concept of exercise of collective security," Arroyo said during a speech at a symposium on the "Future of Asia."

"We would like to see Japan playing a leading role in contribution to community building in the region, and that means also, including maintaining and pursuing international peace and security as we try to forge the East Asia community of our dreams," she said.

She also said the relationship between Japan and China had especially important implications for regional stability in Asia.

Arroyo said she was happy to hear about the "increasingly cordial relationship between the two Asian economic giants."

Relations between Japan and China deteriorated over the interpretation of history and a territorial dispute during the five-year term of Junichiro Koizumi, the predecessor of current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In a bid to reverse the trend, Abe traveled to China in October, immediately after taking office, to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Arroyo's remarks came as officials were making arrangements for a meeting between Abe and Hu on the sidelines of a coming summit of industrialized nations in Germany.