Manila: The Philippines, the United States, and Japan are focused on developing their trilateral economic partnership to complement their growing security ties, the US State Department said Saturday. The foreign ministers of the three states - Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japan Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi - discussed the plan and the need to unlock more private sector investments in their flagship Luzon Economic Corridor during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia on July 10, it said in a statement.

According to Philippines News Agency, the State Department indicated that Rubio highlighted Manila's wealth in critical minerals and emphasized the need to diversify critical mineral supply chains. The officials proposed advancing trilateral cooperation in the Philippines on cyber security, energy (including civil nuclear energy), and investments in reliable and secure telecommunications networks.

They concluded with an agreement to hold sectoral trilateral discussions at the senior officials' level in the coming months to advance their shared desire for peace and security in the region. In the same meeting, the officials reaffirmed their interest in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific and agreed to coordinate cooperation on maritime security, including through Maritime Cooperative Activities, trilateral military exercises, and capacity building and assistance for the Philippine Coast Guard and other Philippine maritime authorities.

Lazaro, meanwhile, stated that Manila views the US and Japan as 'indispensable partners' in enhancing the Philippines' defense and security capabilities. She expressed appreciation for the two countries' enduring support for the Philippines' position in the South China Sea and Washington, DC's steadfast commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty.