THE first meeting with National Security Advisers of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States includes the discussion of ways to strengthen the trilateral alliance and security challenges in the region.
Friday’s discussion marks the first meeting between Japanese National Security Adviser Akiba Takeo and counterparts Jake Sullivan and Eduardo Año.
The three advisers met in Tokyo, and discussed a wide range of security challenges including with respect to the South and East China Seas, as well as North Korea, as Pyongyang continues to conduct illicit nuclear and missile programs.
The said leaders also reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
All three advisers also agreed to strengthen defense cooperation and produce a formal strategy document by the end of the year, as well as a combined maritime activity, including multilateral joint naval exercises in the Indo Pacific Region, following on from the first joint training operation among the coast guards of Tokyo, Manila, and Washington earlier this June.
Meanwhile, Japan will provide military aid for the Philippines, saying that the move will help safeguard the western flank of Taiwan.
Reports say that Japan worries that the Philippines is a weak link in an island chain ranging from Japan to Indonesia through which vessels must pass going to and from the Pacific Ocean.
