(Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos is slated to attend what the government said was a historic trilateral cooperation meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the US next week.
Foreign Affairs Acting Deputy Undersecretary Hans Mohaimin Siriban said the meeting in Washington will build upon the previous meetings of the countries in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“The elevation of the Philippines-Japan-US partnership into this trilateral cooperation has the peace stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific at the forefront, which is the basis for this trilateral process,” he said, adding that it was also a “natural progression of the three parties existing robust, excellent bilateral cooperation, their enduring friendship and alliance, shared values, shared interests and shared respect of the three parties for the rules-based international order.”
Siriban said the meeting, however, was not directed at any country, noting that the focus was “on the economic cooperation, building on economic resilience because I think, for the Philippines, our interest really is to build economic resilience and bilaterally, our friends from the US and Japan have been very active in supporting us in a bilateral context.”
He said apart from discussing their common vision for the Indo-Pacific Region, the leaders are expected to explore opportunities for enhancing trilateral cooperation across various areas of mutual interest, including inclusive economic growth.
The meeting also aims to develop critical and emerging technologies, climate change cooperation and clean energy supply chains.
“But here we are looking at an expanded platform where we can look at synergies, where our three countries can cooperate in enhancing the economic resilience of the Philippines, especially in the areas of strategic and critical infrastructure,” he added.
He said the Philippines was also “looking at cooperating to help,” with the country one of the most severely affected by climate change.
“…So we are looking at actions, at activities that will help address and mitigate the impact of climate change and help the Philippines adapt to climate change,” he said.
