By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES, the United States and Japan vowed to further boost cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in the South China Sea, the three countries said after a call among their leaders.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., outgoing US President Joseph R. Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met virtually on Monday morning, in which they “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation,” the presidential palace in Manila said in a statement.
At the virtual meeting, the US president also lauded the Philippines for standing up to Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
Mr. Marcos said he is confident that the three countries would “continue working together to enhance and deepen trilateral ties.”
“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,” Mr. Marcos said at the virtual summit, according to his office.
The palace said Mr. Biden had expressed hope at the meeting that his successor would continue the trilateral partnership. Donald J. Trump succeeds Mr. Biden on Jan. 20.
“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 leader said. “I’m optimistic that my successor will also see the value of continuing this partnership, and that it is framed the right way.”
A White House readout said Mr. Marcos, Mr. Biden and Mr. Shigeru Ishiba sought ways “to advance our continuing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.”
It said 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.”
Among the participants of the first-ever trilateral summit in April 2024, only Mr. Marcos will remain in power by Jan. 20. Mr. Ishiba took over in September 2024 after Fumio Kishida’s resignation amid corruption issues within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
“Since then, we’ve made historic progress in our trilateral partnership, especially in areas of maritime security, economic security, technology cooperation and high-quality infrastructure investments,” Mr. Biden said.
Hansley A. Juliano, a political analyst who studied at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of International Development in Tokyo, said the Marcos government’s policy should not change amid risks of backsliding under the second presidency of Mr. Trump, who is known for his America-first policy.
“Its current strength is precisely in its ability to bring in additional allies,” he said.
Manila can count on South Korea and Australia should the US and Japan become “unreliable” partners in the short term, he said. “The multilateral arrangements facilitated by the US and Japan in the past are precisely for these kinds of moments.”
Mr. Juliano said the security agencies of Japan and the US “tend to hold themselves to longstanding commitments unless the incumbent is drastically against multilateral or international engagements.”
“Shifts in US foreign policy have happened, but it has not significantly waned even during the first presidency of Trump,” he said. “And as for Japan, it is much concerned with containing China in line with its free and open and Indo-Pacific policy.”
“The trilateral partnership of Japan, the Philippines and the US is at its best form,” said Chester B. Cabalza, founding president at International Security and Development Center. The three have “common strategic interests amid challenges in maintaining a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.”
He noted that Washington, Tokyo and Manila “build bilateral defense pacts to address impending challenges.” “Despite changes, these allied countries remain committed to fostering peace and order in the South China Sea.”
Don McLain Gill, an international relations lecturer at De La Salle University, said the trilateral partnership is an important component of the Indo-Pacific program of the US and Japan.
“It’s a matter of continuing where it has left off,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat, noting that their commitment to building an economic corridor on the main Philippine island of Luzon would remain because it’s long-term in nature.
“Japan eagerly tries to leverage whatever it can to maximize its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, the US as well,” he added.
Joshua Bernard B. Espeña, who teaches foreign policy at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, said Mr. Marcos should be candid with Mr. Trump about what Manila could offer and where Americans and other partners should come in.
“The most apparent is the sustainability of the supply chain of defense industries that are direly needed to create an impactful deterrent against Beijing in times of conflict,” he said via Messenger chat.
“It matters much that while Mr. Trump asks regional allies for more, it must also look in the mirror to where it can be of most help — something that Manila should communicate down the line,” he added.
DIPLOMATIC PROTEST
The US and Japan have condemned China’s intrusions into Philippine waters in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.
The presidential palace in Manila said Mr. Biden commended Mr. Marcos for his diplomatic response “to China’s aggressive and coercive activities in the South China Sea.”
As the three leaders held their summit, which lasted 25 minutes, the Philippine government said it had filed diplomatic protests over the presence of Chinese vessels including Beijing’s monster ship China Coast Guard Vessel-5901 within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.
The National Maritime Council had yet to provide details of the diplomatic protests but it cited “China’s recent illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea.”
In a statement, it said the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) air and sea assets were immediately deployed when the presence and operations of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels CCG 5901 and CCG 3304 were detected on Jan. 5 and 10 near Scarborough Shoal and the coastline of the Zambales province.
“The PCG continuously challenged CCG 5901 and CCG 3304 and told them to leave the area immediately,” it added.
Scarborough has been a major source of tensions in the South China Sea, with Chinese coast guard vessels backed by maritime militia ships continuing to block Filipino fishermen. A United Nations-backed court in the Hague voided China’s expansive in the South China Sea in 2016, as it ruled the shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.
