On October 25, senior government officials from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines convened an informal trilateral discussion in Manila on countering economic coercion and promoting economic resilience. The discussion was chaired by Ms. Ma. Corazon Halili—Dichosa, Executive Director for Industry Development Services at the Board of Investments of the Republic of the Philippines. The U.S. delegation was led by Jonathan Fritz, Chief of Staff to Jose W. Fernandez, the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State; and the Japanese delegation was led by Mochizuki Chihiro, Director for Economic Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The discussion is intended to strengthen close coordination to address economic coercion and build economic resilience based on “the Joint Vision Statement from the Leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States” issued at the first Japan-U.S.-Philippines Summit this April. The participants shared their concern over and strong opposition to economic coercion and a commitment to building economic resilience. They also affirmed that the three countries intend to cooperate to raise awareness of this issue among the international community and enhance their resilience to and response capabilities to potential economic coercion.
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