Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News
Published Apr 12, 2024 06:48 AM PHT | Updated Apr 12, 2024 07:20 AM PHT
US President Joe Biden on Thursday told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that Manila’s partnership with Washington and Tokyo would result into “more jobs and more investments” for Filipinos.
Biden gave the statement during the trilateral summit involving the Philippines, Japan and the United States, a “historic” cooperation forged among states that have been actively deterring China’s expansionist agenda in the South China Sea.
“I’m proud to announce that we are launching an economic corridor in the Philippines as part of the G7’s partnership for global infrastructure and investment,” Biden said during the trilateral meeting held in the White House.
“This is the first corridor in the Indo-Pacific. It means more jobs for people across the entire region. It means more investment in sectors critical to our future, clean energy, ports, railroads, agriculture and much more,” he said.
The White House earlier announced that the proposed Luzon Corridor “will connect Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas” and would include investments in ports, rail, clean energy, semiconductors, supply chains, and other forms of connectivity in the Philippines.
Philippine Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual earlier noted that the projects offered to American and Japanese investors in the economic corridor include the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas railway system, expansion of the Clark International Airport, and the Clark National Food Hub.
The project in Clark International Airport involves the construction of a new runway “to ensure business continuity,” while the National Food Hub project will “be the center for bringing together agricultural produce in the region for the domestic market as well as for export,” Philippine Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said.
“I feel very optimistic that something concrete will come out of this discussion,” he said.
Marcos Jr. said the cooperation among Manila, Tokyo and Washington is “bound by a shared vision and pursuit of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
“It is a partnership born not out of convenience nor of expediency but as a natural progression of a deepening relations and robust cooperation amongst our 3 countries, linked by a profound respect for democracy, good governance and the rule of law,” the Filipino leader said.
“This is a meeting that looks ahead as we deepen our ties and enhance our coordination, we seek to identify ways of growing our economies and making them more resilient, climate-proofing our cities and our societies, sustain our development progress and forging a peaceful world for the next generation,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the three countries “have shared fundamental values and supported regional economic development.”
“I would like to confirm the further strengthening of Japan-US-Philippine cooperation and show concrete direction for the sake of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
Aside from the creation of the Luzon Corridor, the White House said that Tokyo and Washington will be “providing million of dollars” in Manila to establish an Open Radio Access Network (ORAN), which allows the interoperation between cellular network equipment provided by different vendors.