The United States, Japan and the Philippines jointly expressed their concern over China's "dangerous and aggressive" behavior in the South China Sea.
"We steadfastly oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation," the joint statement read, as the countries held their first-ever trilateral summit, attended by US President Joe Biden, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The three denounced China's disruption of supply lines to Second Thomas Shoal as "dangerous and destabilizing," due to the fact that the feature lies within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
The joint statement also touched upon the East China Sea, urging China to cease its attempts to "change the status quo by force or coercion."
