REVILLA HOPEFUL OVER HISTORIC TRILATERAL MEET

SENATOR Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. today expressed optimism over the first trilateral meeting between the Philippines, Japan, and the United States held in the White House on April 11.

In a joint statement released by the White House, the "three nations share a firm commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is connected, prosperous, secure, inclusive, and resilient," welcoming coordination and cooperation with a wide range of partners who share these goals.

"I am very hopeful over this historic summit," Revilla said. "Ang pagpapatibay ng ating relasyon sa Japan at Amerika, at ang pagtutulungan sa pagitan ng ating mga bansa ay maghahatid ng higit na seguridad, kaayusan, at progreso sa ating rehiyon," he added.

The nations' leaders, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. reiterated their "ironclad" commitments to peace and security in the indo-pacific region, with the US affirming its obligations under its Mutual Defense Treaties with the Philippines and Japan.

"The United States defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad. They're ironclad," Biden said as he began three-way talks at the White House with Kishida and Marcos. "As I said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty."

Revilla welcomed President Biden's announcement of more than $1 billion in U.S. private sector investments aimed at promoting the Philippines' innovation economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resilience.

The veteran lawmaker also expressed his elation on the launching the Luzon Economic Corridor, which connect Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas. "Through this corridor, part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment-IPEF Accelerator, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States commit to accelerating coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including rail; ports modernization; clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments; agribusiness; and civilian port upgrades at Subic Bay," the joint statement said.