The Philippines, the United States and Japan announced Friday, April 12, the formal establishment of a trilateral maritime cooperation to safeguard their peoples at sea as their leaders expressed concern about China’s dangerous and coercive actions both in the South and the East China Seas.

President Marcos, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that their nations’ Coast Guards will collaborate even further within the next year “to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and safety.”

They said they will advance their defense trilateral cooperation through combined naval training and exercises among themselves and with other partners, among others.

The three countries will also launch a Philippines-US-Japan humanitarian assistance and disaster response exercise, which they said could be integrated into trilateral or multilateral activities, including Balikatan 2025.

The goal, they said, is to ensure “our countries are ready and able to work together seamlessly and expeditiously in response to any crisis or contingency.”

These moves came as Marcos, Biden and Kishida were worried about unfavorable situations at sea, which they attributed to China.

“We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea,” they said in their joint vision statement following their historic trilateral meet at the White House.

“We steadfastly oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation,” they added.

​The leaders also noted China's attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea that "seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands.​"

Aside from ensuring freedom of navigation at sea, the three leaders also announced plans to protect the livelihood of Filipino and Japanese fishers from their traditional fishing grounds as they face harassment from China.

​Marcos, Biden and Kishida announced plans to expand efforts to provide their troops maritime law enforcement training. Japan will provide the Philippines five more Coast Guard vessels, while the US will invite Filipino and Japanese troops aboard their Coast Guard ships during a patrol in the Indo-Pacific this year.

"A new trilateral chapter between our three nations begins today​," they said.