Senior government officials from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines convened an informal trilateral discussion yesterday in Manila on countering economic coercion and promoting economic resilience.
The discussion was chaired by Philippines’ Board of Investments (BOI) Executive Director for Industry Development Services Ma. Corazon Halili—Dichosa. 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 was aimed at strengthening 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 their first trilateral summit last April. 
The officials shared their concern over and strong opposition to economic coercion, and a commitment to building economic resilience. They also affirmed the three countries’ intention to cooperate in raising awareness about this issue among the international community, and enhance their resilience and response capabilities to potential economic coercion.
