Malacañang on Sunday said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s trilateral phone call with outgoing United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has been moved to Monday morning, 13 January, Manila time.
The phone conference was initially scheduled for today, Sunday.
However, Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said the US requested to reschedule it for 7 a.m. the next day “due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.”
“US side ang nagrequest ng adjustment (The US side requested the adjustment),” Chavez told reporters.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said the three leaders are expected to discuss the progress made on the Philippines-US-Japan Trilateral Cooperation since the historic leaders’ meeting in Washington D.C. on 11 April 2024.
The leaders of the US, Japan, and the Philippines previously attended the first-ever trilateral summit to enhance the three nations' economic and maritime cooperation amid threats to the international rules-based order.
The three countries entered new partnerships and alliances by forging a trilateral agreement, which Marcos described as critical to the countries’ “collective security and continued prosperity across the region.”
During the phone conference, Marcos, Biden, and Ishiba are expected to discuss economic matters as well as regional and global developments.