The White House announced that the leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines will announce a new initiative on energy security and maritime cooperation at their first trilateral summits in Washington on Thursday, local time.
 
According to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday, local time, the three leaders will establish a new agenda for initiatives that will strengthen energy security, economic and maritime cooperation, technology and cybersecurity partnership, and joint investment in critical infrastructure.
 
In particular, talks on maritime cooperation are being interpreted as a way to check China's attempts to change the status quo in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
 
Both Japan and the Philippines have separate territorial disputes with China, with Tokyo clashing with Beijing over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and Manila disputing with Beijing over areas in the South China Sea.
 
Before leaving for the U.S. on Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announced that there will be an agreement on maintaining security and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea during the trilateral summit, adding that specific measures on how to implement the cooperation will be discussed, as well.