South China Sea: Philippines, US, Japan to step up maritime cooperation to deter Beijing’s aggression
- Joint statement by the three leaders makes it clear the Washington summit was aimed at opposing China’s recent maritime activities
- The three countries will hold maritime exercises to ‘improve interoperability’, and invest in high-impact infrastructure projects in the Philippines
The trilateral summit in Washington between the leaders of the Philippines, United States and Japan saw a number of announcements focused on strengthening maritime defence cooperation in the South China Sea to counter Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters.
Of particular interest to those in the Philippines was confirmation that the country’s coastguard would be included in Manila’s mutual defence treaty with the US, as well as a number of “high-impact infrastructure projects”.
The joint statement released by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the conclusion of Thursday’s summit made it clear that the meeting was aimed at opposing Beijing’s recent maritime activities.
“We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s dangerous and aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea,” the statement said. “We are also concerned by the militarisation of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.”
