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In a rebuke of Beijing's increasingly aggressive maritime posture, the foreign ministers of Japan, the United States, and the Philippines reaffirmed their commitment to freedom of navigation during a trilateral meeting on July 10.
The gathering, held on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, marks the first such high-level ministerial dialogue since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, The Straits Times reported. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro voiced firm opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo "by force or coercion," a pointed message directed at China's belligerent actions in the East and South China seas. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the ministers emphasised strengthening trilateral cooperation to deter further Chinese aggression in the region. The backdrop to this renewed alliance is China's long-standing pattern of illegal and provocative actions in the South China Sea, where it has militarised artificial islands, harassed foreign vessels, and ignored international rulings against its territorial claims. The Philippines, in particular, has faced repeated incursions by Chinese vessels into its exclusive economic zone. At the same time, Japan has been forced to respond to Chinese ships encroaching near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. As The Straits Times reported, the trilateral also highlighted recent progress in maritime cooperation, including joint coast guard exercises held in June off Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture, a signal of growing preparedness to counter Chinese maritime assertiveness. In reaffirming their shared commitment to regional stability, the three allies sent a clear message: Beijing's coercive tactics will not go unchallenged. The coordinated stand reflects a broader effort by like-minded democracies to push back against China's attempts to rewrite the rules of maritime conduct in the Indo-Pacific, The Straits Times concluded. (ANI)
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