MANILA, January 14 ------ The Philippines, Japan and the United States on Monday agreed to further strengthen their trilateral cooperation on multiple fronts ahead of the looming end of US President Joe Biden’s term next week. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Biden made the commitment in a three-way phone call days before incoming US President Donald Trump was set to be sworn into office. “I am confident that our three countries will continue to work together closely to sustain the gains that we have made in enhancing and deepening our ties,” Marcos Jr. told his American and Japanese counterparts.
The Filipino leader was referring to economic, maritime and technology cooperation agreements the three countries signed during their historic Trilateral Summit in Washington DC in April 2024. In that summit, the US and Japan pledged to pump funds to develop the Philippines’ “Luzon corridor of investments,” which involves investments in ports, rail, clean energy, semiconductors, supply chains, and other forms of connectivity in the Philippines.
Biden expressed optimism that Trump, known for his America First protectionist policies, would “see the value of continuing this partnership,” noting that there is still a need to “continue to deepen our cooperation.” “Simply put, our countries have an interest in continuing this partnership and institutionalizing our cooperation across our governments so that it is built to last,” the outgoing US President said. “I’m optimistic that my successor will also see the value of continuing this partnership, and that it is framed the right way, We should continue to deepen our cooperation in these areas, I believe,” he said. Ishiba agreed with the two other leaders that it would be beneficial for all three countries to further deepen relationships and cooperate on various sectors. “Going forward, it is important to deepen trilateral cooperation in a variety of fields,” he said.
Malacañang said that Biden had “commended President Marcos for his diplomatic response to China’s aggressive and coercive activities in the South China Sea.” In a statement, the White House confirmed that the 3 leaders also discussed China’s "dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea." "Together the three leaders discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation, as well as the People’s Republic of China’s dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea. The three leaders agreed on the importance of continued coordination to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said.
The three countries have stepped up security cooperation to blunt China's efforts to control the waterway. The trilateral call was supposed to have been held on Sunday, but has been postponed because of the Los Angeles wildfires, the Palace said. Biden earlier cancelled a January 9-12 trip to Italy to focus instead on the federal response to the California wildfires. His term ends on January 20 when Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next US leader.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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