<!--/* //NOSONAR */-->
<!--/* //NOSONAR */--><html  lang="en-US">
<head id="Head"><meta id="MetaDescription" name="DESCRIPTION" /><meta id="MetaKeywords" name="KEYWORDS" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1" /><title>
	Joint Readout on the Inaugural U.S.-Philippines 3+3 Meeting
</title><link id="css3605" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/module.css" /><link id="css4870" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/desktopmodules/ArticleCS/styles/Joint/style.css" /></head>
<body>
    <main>
    <div>
    <div class="aprint news">
    <div class="header">
        <img height="100" class="print-logo" alt="Site Logo" src="/Portals/55/INDOPACOM2018_100x100.png?ver=J6xEsvouw9aaqHcHjhoIIQ%3d%3d" />

        <h1 class="title">Joint Readout on the Inaugural U.S.-Philippines 3+3 Meeting</h1>
    </div>
    
<div id="adetail-slick-gallery" class="gallery">
    
    <div class="item">
        
        <div class="image">
            
            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2024/Feb/29/2003402981/1920/1080/0/240229-N-ZZ099-1002.JPG"
                 class="aimage img-responsive"
                 alt="Graphic with a gradient blue background depicting the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command logo with the words Press Release laid over it."
                 itemprop="image" />
        </div>
        
        
        
        
        
        <div class="slide-info-hidden">
            <div class="slide-info-inner">
                
                <div class="image-title">240229-N-ZZ099-1001</div>
                <div class="image-caption">Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.</div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    
</div>
<div class="slide-info"></div>





    <div> <span class="date">/ Published April 12, 2024</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text"></span>
    <p><span style="font-size:larger;">The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Philippines on the occasion of the inaugural U.S.-Philippines 3+3 Meeting.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;"><em>Begin text:</em></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, and Philippine National Security Advisor Eduardo M. Año in Washington, DC today. The meeting followed President Biden's bilateral meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the historic Japan-Philippines-United States Trilateral Leaders' Summit on April 11.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">The parties reaffirmed their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and discussed ways to deepen coordination regarding shared challenges in the South China Sea, including repeated harassment of lawful Philippine operations by the People's Republic of China. Secretary Blinken, Secretary of Defense Austin, and National Security Advisor Sullivan reiterated the United States' ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Philippine Alliance and recalled that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea. The parties underscored their determination to increase U.S. support for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to improve interoperability and to achieve our shared security objectives. The parties further decided to explore additional opportunities to strengthen global support for upholding the international law of the sea.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;"><em>End text.</em></span></p>
<br />
</div>
    </div>
    </main>
</body>
</html>