President Marcos said he would push for stronger economic, defense, and maritime cooperation with the US and Japan as he left for Washington, DC on Wednesday, April 10, for the trilateral summit with US President Joseph Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

In his departure statement, the President said the Philippines has long enjoyed strong ties with the US and Japan.

“It is a historic meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and it is aimed at advancing trilateral cooperation between our three countries, which have long enjoyed warm and friendly relations, and robust cooperation,” he said.

During the summit, Marcos said he would underscore the importance of enhancing the economic cooperation of the Philippines with Japan and the US “to promote economic resilience and security.”

“I intend to explore ways of advancing cooperation, especially in the areas of critical infrastructure, semiconductors, digitalization and cybersecurity, critical minerals, renewable energy, as well as defense and maritime cooperation,” he said.

“It is my intention also to exchange views with my US and Japanese counterparts on various regional security issues of mutual concern while continuing to reiterate the importance of upholding the rule of law and preserving the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.

In an interview before his flight to Washington, DC, the President said the summit would result in a deal regarding the issue of the South China Sea.

"This is essentially an agreement between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines. Our cooperation in terms of maintaining security and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. That is the essence of it," he said.

"It will contain more details in the sense of how, in terms of cooperation, it will be implemented," he added.

On the sidelines of the trilateral summit, President Marcos will have a bilateral meeting with President Biden, where they will discuss strengthening further the alliance between the Philippines and the US.

President Marcos will also meet with business leaders in the US to invite them to invest in the Philippines.

According to the White House, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his wife Kishida Yuko on April 10.

"The visit will underscore the deep and enduring Alliance between the United States and Japan, and Japan’s increasing global leadership role," it said.

The following day, President Biden will host President Marcos Prime Minister Kishida at the White House for the first trilateral summit between the three countries' leaders.

The summit seeks to strengthen the United States’ political, security, economic, and people-to-people ties with Japan and highlight the deepening trilateral cooperation between the US, Japan, and the Philippines.