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Mari Yamaguchi
Published June 16, 2023 • read for 3 minutes
FILE — White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan answers a reporter’s question during a news conference at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 24, 2023. National security advisers from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, in their first such Trilateral talks Friday, June 16, 2023 agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation as Washington and its partners look to strengthen their alliances to adapt to growing tensions over North Korea, China and Ukraine, Sullivan said. Photo by Andrew Harnik /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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TOKYO (AP) — The national security advisers of the United States, Japan and the Philippines held their first joint talks Friday and agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation as Washington and its partners strengthen their alliances to adapt to growing tensions over the North Korea, China and Ukraine, said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
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Sullivan said he and his Japanese and Philippine counterparts discussed the “turbulent regional security environment and how we can work together to improve peace and stability” in areas such as freedom of navigation and economic security.
Sullivan, Takeo Akiba of Japan and Eduardo Ano of the Philippines said in a joint statement that they stressed the importance of strengthening trilateral cooperation, building on alliances between Japan and the US and between the Philippines and the US to promote peace and stability. in the Indo-Pacific, especially in the Taiwan Strait.
Sullivan said the “pioneering” new trilateral framework is part of multiple alliances involving the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, including three-way cooperation with Japan and South Korea and the Quad Security Dialogue with Australia, India and Japan.
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“I would say that different groups may have different priorities and emphasis points, but what we’re actually finding is that the agenda is expanding because the world is getting smaller in a sense. And all the problems everywhere come to every country in this area,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is not expected to make a significant breakthrough during his visit to China on Sunday, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington later this week will “mark a transformative moment in relations between the US and India. ”
The three security advisers discussed the possibilities for joint naval exercises in Indo-Pacific waters and agreed to deepen military cooperation in humanitarian aid and disaster relief, they said.
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During a visit to Tokyo by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in February, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged 600 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in development aid and private investment. The two leaders agreed to allow their armies to cooperate in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, seen as a step toward a pact allowing their forces to visit and train on each other’s territory.
On Thursday, Sullivan and Akiba held a separate three-way meeting with their South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yong, which Sullivan said had a “profound impact” on strengthening their cooperation following a recent improvement in ties between Japan and South Korea .
Japan adopted a new National Security Strategy in December that set a goal of doubling its defense spending to 43 trillion yen ($310 billion) over the next five years to fund a military buildup, including the development of an offensive capability in a major break from his self-defense-only policy was long observed under the post-World War II pacifist constitution.
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Under the new strategy, Japan has begun providing security assistance to the militaries of developing countries, mainly in the Indo-Pacific region, and is likely to provide Japanese-made non-lethal equipment such as radar, antennas, small patrol boats and improvements to infrastructure such as ports . The Philippines is an important candidate.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei are engaged in tense territorial clashes over the South China Sea. The United States has no claim to the waters, but says freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the major international waterway are in its national interest.
Sullivan said he and Akiba and Ano have decided to meet again in the coming months to expand their collaboration and information sharing.
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