A cooperation agreement by the Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Friday (Apr 12), while seeking to assure China it was not a target.
“I think the trilateral agreement is extremely important,” Marcos told a press conference in Washington a day after meeting President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the nations’ first trilateral summit.
“It is going to change the dynamic, the dynamic that we see in the region, in ASEAN, in Asia, around the South China Sea,” Marcos said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The three leaders expressed “serious concerns” about China’s “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce with various maritime disputes among China and other countries.
Still, Marcos said the summit was “not against any country” but had focused on deepening economic and security relations among Manila, Washington and Tokyo.
Meanwhile, China has lodged solemn representations to Japan on Friday over its negative moves in Washington, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Liu Jinsong, director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, summoned Chief Minister of the Embassy of Japan in China Yokochi Akira to lodge solemn representations and express serious concerns and strong dissatisfaction over Japan’s negative moves during the Japan-U.S. summit in Washington and the trilateral summit among the United States, Japan and the Philippines.
It also lodged solemn representations to the Philippines on the same day over its remarks during the trilateral summit.
