DFA exec: China aggression in WPS to be tackled in US-PH-Japan trilateral meet

The recent Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea will be tackled during the trilateral summit by the Philippines, the United States, and Japan in Washington, DC next week, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

At a Palace press briefing, Hans Mohaimin Siriban, acting deputy undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, was asked if the tension in the region will be tackled during the meeting among President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"Yes, I think we can expect a discussion on the recent incidents on... of course, the joint vision statement is still under discussion, but we can expect an alignment of views among the three countries on the recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea," Siriban said.

"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.

The DFA official also said the meetings with other leaders aim to promote freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea and protect Filipino fishermen in the region.

"I think that is the hope of everyone whether or not this trilateral summit takes place or even in a bilateral context. That is our hope na magkaroon ng malayang paglalayag sa West Philippine Sea at sa ating mga karagatan (That is our hope, that there will be freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea and our waters)," Siriban said.

"Our hope is also that with the trilateral cooperation, it will also help capacitate the Philippines in terms of more training on maritime security, training on capacity-building not just training of personnel but also, possibly, more cooperation on equipment," he added.

'Not poking the bear' 

Siriban also clarified that the conduct of the trilateral summit is "not directed at any country" as it is primarily focused on economic cooperation.

"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," Siriban said.

"I think, for the Philippines, our interest, really, is to build economic resilience and, bilaterally, our friends from the US and Japan have been very active in supporting us in a bilateral context," he added.

Marcos had said the Philippines' trilateral engagement with the United States and Japan is meant to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region and not to win any conflict in the region.

Earlier, United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the trilateral summit next week would bring closer coordination on South China Sea issues.

Campbell made the comment at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security in Washington, as the US has expressed concern over the China Coast Guard's use of water cannons on Philippine vessels near Ayungin Shoal.

Siriban's statement comes a day after National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said that the rising tensions in the South China Sea would be among the topics to be discussed during the bilateral meeting between Marcos and Biden.

The bilateral meeting between the two leaders will be held at the sidelines of the trilateral summit.

The White House earlier announced that Biden will host Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on April 11 for the first trilateral US-Japan-Philippines leaders' summit aimed at reaffirming their "ironclad alliance." — VDV, GMA Integrated News