Biden to meet with Philippine and Japanese leaders at White House
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden is bringing together Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Thursday as the three nations use their first-ever trilateral summit to try to show they are in lockstep about countering China’s military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
The leaders are expected to announce that their coast guards will hold a joint patrol in the Indo-Pacific this year, a follow-up on law enforcement drills carried out last year by the allies in waters near the disputed South China Sea. The US Coast Guard will also welcome Filipino and Japanese coast guard members onto a US Coast Guard vessel during the patrol for training, according to senior Biden administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview the talks.
The summit comes a day after Biden held one-on-one talks with Kishida and feted the Japanese premier with a glitzy state dinner at the White House, a diplomatic honour meant to recognize Tokyo’s growing clout on the global stage. It was also designed to send a clear signal that the Democratic administration remains determined to build what it calls a “latticework” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific even as it grapples with the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Biden on Wednesday reflected on the fact that Japan, once a fierce US enemy, has become one of the closest American partners and an indispensable ally in a shared push for peace, security and prosperity in the Pacific and beyond.
“Just a few generations ago, our two nations were locked in a devastating conflict,” Biden said with Kishida by his side for a pomp-filled arrival ceremony at the White House. “It would have been easy to say we remain adversaries. Instead, we made a far better choice: We became the closest of friends.”