President Marcos is confident that the recent trilateral agreement between the Philippines, the United States, and Japan would not affect investments from China.

Marcos said this following his trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Washington, D.C., on April 11.

In an interview with Manila-based reporters in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 12, the President said he does not see a connection between the two issues.

"I don’t see how the two are connected. China will continue whatever investments it chooses to make," he said.

"This is separate from any proposed or potential Chinese investments in the Philippines. How do I see it, how will it affect [the investments]? I don’t see that it will affect, one way or the other," he added.

PH economy to benefit

President Marcos is also optimistic that the American and Japanese investments in the country will materialize in the next five years.

"They have already committed to these investments and the fact that we have together identified areas — that investment will go to — it shows that this is not a promise. It is something that we intend to do," he said.

"I am very confident that this will all materialize and mararamdaman natin sa Pilipinas (we will feel it in the Philippines)," he added.

The Marcos administration is expecting to secure over $100 billion in investments from the trilateral meeting over the next five years.

Meanwhile, Marcos reiterated that his trilateral meeting with Biden and Kishida was "a continuing evolution" of the relationship between the three countries, downplaying speculations that it was anchored on a "new situation" in the Indo-Pacific region.

"The trilateral agreement is not something that is only about convenience, or because there is a new situation. I really view it as a continuing evolution of our relationship with both countries, with the US and Japan," he said.

"This is evidenced by the fact that a large part of the agreement is on economic proposals, and economic assistance and partnership between the three countries. Security and defense, of course, are there. But that is not the main point of the trilateral agreement,” he added.