President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, China's provocative actions in the South China Sea, and disagreements over a Japanese company's plan to buy nuclear weapons. Famous American steel company.
Eugene Hoshiko | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, China's provocative actions in the South China Sea, and disagreements over a Japanese company's plan to buy nuclear weapons. Famous American steel company.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Monday that the first-ever summit of the leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines is an opportunity to highlight “the growing economic relationship between our two countries, and the proud and resolute commitment to shared democratic values and shared democracy.” A shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The three leaders have no shortage of issues to discuss.
The announcement came as North Korean state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a live-fire exercise of “large-scale” nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers designed to target South Korea's capital. North Korea's claim came after the South Korean and Japanese militaries announced on Monday that they had discovered North Korea firing several short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its east coast, adding to a series of weapons displays that have raised regional tensions.
Relations between the United States and Japan are facing a rare moment of friction after Biden announced last week that he opposes the planned sale of Pittsburgh-based US Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel. In announcing his opposition, Biden argued that the United States needed to “preserve strong American steel companies supported by American steelworkers.”
Nippon Steel announced last December that it planned to buy US Steel for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the deal could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and American national security.
Meanwhile, long-simmering Philippine-China tensions came back into focus this month after Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels collided in the disputed South China Sea.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels and their escort vessels blocked Philippine Coast Guard and supply vessels off the disputed Second Thomas Shoal and carried out dangerous maneuvers that caused two minor collisions between the two Chinese vessels and two Filipino vessels, Philippine officials said.
A small contingent of the Philippine Navy and Navy monitored the rusting warship, BRP Sierra Madre, which has been stranded since the late 1990s in the shallow waters of Second Thomas Shoal.
China also claims the shoal off the western Philippines, and has blockaded the atoll with its coast guard, navy and other ships to press its claims and prevent Filipino forces from delivering construction materials to fortify the Sierra Madre in a decades-long standoff.
Close ties between the United States and the Philippines were not a given when Marcos, the son of a former Philippine strongman of the same name, took office in 2022.
But both Biden and Marcos have done a lot to strengthen the historically complex relationship between the two countries, with both leaders sharing concerns about China's aggressive actions across the region.
In 1996, a US appeals court upheld damages amounting to about two billion dollars against the estates of Marcos Sr. for the torture and killing of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a jury verdict in Hawaii in 1994, where he fled after being forced to step down in 1986. He died there in 1989.
Marcos Sr. placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before the end of his term. He closed the country's congressional offices and newspapers, ordered the arrest of many political opponents and activists and ruled by decree.
The younger Marcos made an official visit to Washington last year, the first by a Filipino president in more than 10 years. The United States announced Marcos's upcoming trip to Washington while Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Manila.
Jean-Pierre said that in addition to the leaders' summit, Biden will hold one-on-one talks with Marcos. She said the leaders will discuss efforts to expand cooperation in the areas of economic security, clean energy, people-to-people relations, human rights and democracy.
Biden is scheduled to honor Kishida one day before the leaders' summit with a state visit. The White House announced the state visit in January.
