US, Japan, and Philippines Hold First Security Meeting... Forming a Containment Network Around China?

Senior security officials from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines held their first meeting in Tokyo on the 16th and agreed to promote trilateral defense cooperation with China in mind, Kyodo News and NHK reported.

On the 6th, Philippine Coast Guard personnel are training during a joint maritime exercise conducted by the United States, Japan, and the Philippines in the waters off Bataan, Philippines.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to the reports, Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, Takeo Akiba, Director of Japan's National Security Secretariat, and Eduardo A?o, National Security Adviser of the Philippines, met in the afternoon at the Ikura Residence in Tokyo for the meeting. The three countries reaffirmed the importance of strengthening response capabilities to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to cooperate in the field of economic security as well. They also exchanged views on regional security issues such as North Korea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.

Advisor Sullivan said, "We held an innovative trilateral meeting that has never been conducted before," adding, "We discussed how to cooperate regarding freedom of navigation and the turbulent regional security situation." The three countries also plan to hold consultations among security directors to expand cooperation.

The United States, Japan, and the Philippines have been strengthening their cooperative system to respond to China's hegemonic moves, including conducting their first joint maritime exercise near Manila Bay in the Philippines from the 1st to the 7th. Kyodo News analyzed that "the United States and Japan are trying to form a containment network against China through cooperation with the Philippines."