MANILA — Japan, the Philippines and the United States vowed to further strengthen their ties under a trilateral arrangement in the face of growing tensions in regional waters, Manila said on Monday following a call among their leaders.
The three countries “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation”, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s office said in a statement after a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that was held on Monday morning Asian time.
“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 said during the meeting, according to a readout from his communications office.
The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington last April.
Marcos’ office said Biden also commended the Philippine leader for his diplomatic response “to China’s aggressive and coercive activities in the South China Sea”.
Biden was quoted as saying he is “optimistic” his successor would see the value of continuing the partnership. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will assume office next Monday.
Japan and the Philippines are both involved in separate territorial disputes with China in the East and South China Seas, respectively.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal voided Beijing’s sweeping claims for the South China Sea, saying they had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated in the past two years over run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea.
—Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair
