Focus Asia

Thus, the trilateral can enable the greater participation of the Philippines in the region’s geopolitical mechanisms while providing India and Japan an avenue for enhanced engagement with Southeast Asia. [...] Jaishankar and the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo in 2023 for the fifth Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting have seen an uptick (see Table 2). [...] Japan has accelerated its outreach to Southeast Asia in the wake of intensifying China-U. S. [...] Lazaro, Under Secretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines 4th Strategic Dialogue between India and the Philippines 2022-08-17 to 2022-08-18 S. [...] Locsin Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Bilateral meeting reviewing developments in relations and discussing future engagement. [...] As part of their third-country cooperation aims, Japan and India should naturally look at cultivating trilateral synergies with the Philippines as a viable option in Southeast Asia. [...] and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.54 In the context of this shifting perception in Manila, India’s and Japan’s outreach to the Philippines becomes more salient. [...] India, which was “neutral” about the South China Sea disputes, has become more vocal and is even offering military aid to China’s rival claimant states in the region. [...] During a visit by the five-member delegation of the Philippine Coast Guard to India in 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on enhanced maritime cooperation. [...] If India and Japan help via capacity-building mechanisms, especially in maritime security, Manila would be able to challenge China’s maritime aggression more effectively and emerge as a leader for strengthening the regional rules-based order.