Japan, US, Phl leaders discuss security, economic issues

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, U.S. President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. held a 25-minute Japan-U.S.-Philippines Leaders' video conference on 13 January.

The three leaders discussed progress in areas of maritime security, response to economic coercion, resilience of critical infrastructure, and cybersecurity since their first meeting in Washington, D.C. last April.

The three leaders exchanged views on the recent situation in the East and South China Seas and expressed their opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force. Prime Minister Ishiba introduced that he had visited Malaysia and Indonesia until 12 January and had agreed on specific cooperation in maritime security. Furthermore, the three leaders affirmed the importance of gaining broad international community engagement, including like-minded countries, on the South China Sea issue.

The three leaders also exchanged views on economic security, welcomed the progress of cooperation such as the Luzon Economic Corridor, and concurred to further strengthen their collaboration. Prime Minister ISHIBA pointed out that cooperation among allies and like-minded countries is essential to establishing resilient supply chains, and emphasized that in order to promote efforts on economic security it is important to work to ensure that companies can confidently pursue investment. From these perspectives, he raised the acquisition of United States Steel Corporation by Nippon Steel Corporation and urged the U.S. side to take action to dispel concerns.

The three leaders confirmed the importance of maintaining and strengthening the momentum of Japan-U.S.-Philippines cooperation and working together to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law.