MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Japan and their main security ally, the United States, formed a trilateral front against Chinese incursions in the South China Sea following a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week.
“The Philippines, as you are aware, continues to face challenges with sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in his opening remarks during the Sept. 19 meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.