PH-US-Japan triad: An alliance of ‘equals’?

Biden hosting Marcos Jr (left) and Kishida for a trilateral summit at the White House in Washington on April 11. — Reuters

FOR the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Philippines is the focal point of a new security arrangement in the Indo-Pacific. This is an upgraded alliance whose benefits go beyond an “ironclad” commitment to defend each other in case of an attack.

The first trilateral summit between United States President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House on April 11 marked the end of the siloing of bilateral relations between a superpower and its individual (but lesser) allies.