Biden meets with Filipino and Japanese leaders amid growing concern over China's actions in the Indo-Pacific

President Joe Biden will bring 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 trilateral summit to try to show they are in agreement to counter China's military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Leaders are expected to announce that their coast guard will conduct a joint patrol in the Indo-Pacific this year, a continuation of law enforcement drills held last year by allies in waters near the disputed South China Sea. The US Coast Guard will also welcome members of the Philippine and Japanese coast guard to a US Coast Guard ship during the patrol for training, according to senior Biden administration officials who insisted on anonymity to obtain an preview of conversations.

The summit comes a day after Biden held one-on-one talks with Kishida and entertained the Japanese prime minister with a lavish state dinner at the White House, a diplomatic honor meant to recognize Tokyo's growing influence on the world stage. It was also designed to send a clear signal that the Democratic administration remains determined to build what it calls a “web” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific, even as it grapples with the war between Israel and Hamas and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden reflected Wednesday on the fact that Japan, once a fierce enemy of the United States, has become one of America's closest 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 at his side at a pomp-filled arrival ceremony at the White House. “It would have been easy to say that we are still adversaries. Instead, we made a much better decision: we became closer friends.”

Thursday's tripartite summit will also have a big economic component, as several major U.S.-based companies, including Meta, UPS and Greenbrier Energy, will announce investments in the Philippines, administration officials said. The new deals come after Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited Manila last month to announce more than $1 billion in new investments by U.S. companies in the Philippines.

The United States, the United Kingdom and Japan on Wednesday announced joint military exercises in the Indo-Pacific in 2025. This followed the Pentagon revealing earlier this week that the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia were considering including Japan in the AUKUS association, a group. launched in 2021 that aims to equip Australia with nuclear-powered and conventionally armed submarines.

Kishida heads to Capitol Hill on Thursday to deliver a speech to U.S. lawmakers that is expected to focus on the need to strengthen the U.S.-Japan partnership at a time of tension in the Asia-Pacific and skepticism in Congress about the involvement of United States Abroad.

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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