PH-US-Japan meet 'not directed at any country' — DFA

MANILA, Philippines: A trilateral summit between the leaders of the Philippines, the United States (US), and Japan is primarily focused on economic cooperation «and not directed at any country,» the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

DFA Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations Affairs Hans Mohaimin Siriban issued the statement ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s trip to Washington, DC, on April 11 and 12 to meet US President Joseph Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

During a pre-departure briefing in Malacañang, Sibiran said the three leaders would tackle at next week's meeting the recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea, which escalated tensions between Manila and Beijing.

«We can expect an alignment of views among the three countries on the recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea,» Siriban told reporters.

«Of course, we will continue to call [for] peace and stability and that the recent incidents [be] resolved in a peaceful and diplomatic manner,» he added.

But Siriban said the trilateral summit was not aimed at «poking the bear» although the three countries have expressed concern about China's growing aggressiveness in the region.

«This trilateral cooperation is not directed at any country. It is, really, a deepening of existing strong bilateral alliances that we have had and, of course, if you look at the areas of discussion that are being looked at, the primary focus, really, is on economic cooperation— building on economic resilience,» Sibiran said.

«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.

The DFA official said 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.

«This trilateral meeting is a natural progression of the three parties' existing robust, excellent, bilateral cooperation. Their enduring friendship and alliance, shared values,