First US-Japan-Philippines Summit to Boost Defense Ties

AFP/APP 

Tokyo: Japanese and Philippine leaders head to Washington this week for a trilateral summit aimed at boosting defense ties, hot on the heels of four-way military drills in the South China Sea with Australia.

A major upgrade of US defense ties with increasingly self-confident Japan could be announced, as well as joint coast guard patrols with Manila in areas disputed with China.

Also on the agenda will be securing access to vital supplies such as semiconductors and rare metals, North Korea’s growing belligerence, and the Japanese takeover of US Steel, opposed by President Joe Biden.

The talks will “advance a trilateral partnership built on deep historical ties of friendship, robust and growing economic relations, and a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the White House said.

The summit kicks off Wednesday with Fumio Kishida becoming Japan’s first prime minister since Shinzo Abe in 2015 to be received with full honors at the White House.

This will include a gala dinner for him and his wife, Yuko Kishida, hosted by Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Biden and Kishida will also hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden.

On Thursday, Kishida, 66, will address both houses of Congress before he and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos convene with Biden for the countries’ first trilateral summit.

They are the latest Asia-Pacific allies to be hosted by Biden, who was joined by Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August