JAKARTA, Indonesia — The United States of America (USA) and Japan have requested to have a trilateral meeting with the Philippines here to discuss the issue in the West Philippine Sea and economic security among the three nations, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez revealed.

Romualdez said this in an interview with the Philippine media on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits on Sept. 5.

In his interview, the Filipino envoy said they were still trying to see if a meeting would push through considering the very tight schedules of the leaders of the said countries, particularly US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The trilateral meeting was actually requested by both the United States and Japan for the Philippines to get together here in Jakarta. However, the schedules are a bit tight for, especially, Japan and the United States,” he said.

“I think Vice President Harris just arrived this evening, and it's a whole day meeting tomorrow so they’ll find a time. Also, I understand that the Vice President is also leaving the next day, she's only really staying for one. So we’re not sure that’s going to happen,” he added.

Harris would attend the ASEAN Summit instead of US President Joseph Biden, who chose to attend the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit from Sept. 9 to 10. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio would represent his country. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. arrived in Jakarta on Sept. 4.

According to Romualdez, President Marcos was eager to have a trilateral meeting where he could discuss the West Philippine Sea issue and other areas of cooperation with his fellow leaders.

“I’m sure, obviously, the West Philippine Sea will most likely be part of the discussion, but mostly in cooperation and how Japan, the United States, and the Philippines will work together, especially in the area of economic security, which is also very important for us,” he said.

“We’ve had discussions with both Japan and the United States on the issues surrounding our area, our territorial waters, and of course, the South China Sea. As I said, the economic cooperation between our countries, between the two countries with the Philippines is also very important for us. So the president was very eager to have that meeting,” he added.

However, Romualdez said people should not put any meaning to the trilateral meeting as it was a normal occurrence in events such as the ASEAN Summit.

“In summits like this, there are always a lot of bilateral meetings between so many countries. I know that people are putting meaning into it, special meeting into it because of the situation in our part of the world but at the end of the day, it is really a meeting of friends and allies and partners,” he said.

During his visit to Tokyo in February this year, President Marcos said he was open to a tripartite agreement with Japan and the US.