Phl, US, Japan to China: Stop changing status quo by force

The leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines on Thursday (US time) said they would "strongly" oppose China's attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region by force or coercion.

President Joe Biden, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued the joint vision statement, uploaded on the White House Website, as their meeting in Washington, D.C. ended.

Based on their Joint Vision Statement, the leaders expressed their "serious" concern about China's "dangerous and aggressive" actions in the South China Sea.

"We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea," the leaders said.

"We steadfastly oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation," they added.

The leaders also asked China to follow the "final and legally binding" 2016 decision of the arbitral panel that the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) is part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

The latest incident involving the Chinese Coast Guard at Ayungin Shoal happened on 23 March. They used a water gun against a resupply boat that was on its way to the shoal to do its job of bringing supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre.

On the other hand, the leaders also asked for a peaceful end to the fight between China and Taiwan.

"We affirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity, recognize that there is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” the statement read.

“We express our serious concerns regarding the situation in the East China Sea, and reiterate our strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, including through actions that seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands,” they said.

NoKor missile launches

In the same Joint Vision Statement, the leaders condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches as they committed to completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

In particular, the three countries called North Korea's actions "escalatory threats and a grave threat to peace and security."

The leaders condemned not just the launches themselves, but also North Korea's "unprecedented number" of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which could reach the United States mainland.

"Our three nations affirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strongly condemn the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) escalatory threats and unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches, including multiple intercontinental ballistic missile launches, which pose a grave threat to peace and security," the statement added.

"We strongly condemn these escalatory threats and call on North Korea to comply with relevant (United Nations) Security Council resolutions," the statement read.

The leaders also highlighted the ongoing humanitarian concerns surrounding North Korea's nuclear program as they stressed the importance of addressing these issues.

"We emphasize the need to resolve the abductions issue and address the human rights concerns of the international community," the statement wrote.

Aside from the current situation in the Korean Peninsula, the leaders expressed solidarity with Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion.

They particularly reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity."

The statement condemned Russia's threats of nuclear weapon use, calling them "unacceptable" and stating that "any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be completely unjustifiable."

"We reaffirm our joint pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons," the statement said.

The leaders also supported U.S.-led efforts to keep the area safe, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which is made up of the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan, and the trilateral cooperation framework, which includes South Korea, the U.S., and Japan.