Washington —

Plans are already underway for navies from the three countries to patrol the South China Sea ahead of a high-profile summit next week between leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines, senior officials said.

Jose Manuel Romualdez, Philippine Ambassador to the United States said Financial Times Washington, Tokyo and Manila were finalizing details of an agreement for patrols, including when they would begin and how often they would occur, they said on Wednesday.

The United States and the Philippines have conducted joint patrols in the past, but this will be the first time Japan participates. Japan and the Philippines are both treaty allies of the United States.

Asked about the plan, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners told VOA’s Korea service via email this week that the United States has been concerned about “dangerous and destabilizing” actions in the region and is “committed to to maintain deterrence, peace and stability through its military might.” Allies and partners.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the April 11 summit would be an opportunity for “unprecedented trilateral engagement” between the three countries, which would lead to greater cooperation in the South China Sea and other areas.

He made the remarks Wednesday at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

A senior U.S. official said the three leaders will discuss China’s “increasingly dangerous behavior” in the South China Sea.

“We are increasingly concerned that the People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China’s] Actions in this area could bring us closer to real, unintended consequences,” the official said during a White House background briefing this week.

The official continued: “U.S. alliances and partnerships have nothing to do with China…but a lot of times, China’s actions motivate a lot of factors — most of what we’re talking about.”

The most recent conflict occurred on March 26, when Chinese coast guard used water cannon to prevent a Philippine ship from carrying out a supply mission to a reef outpost within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told Philippine Foreign Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday that the United States supports the Philippines in opposing China’s “dangerous actions on March 26 to obstruct the Philippines’ legitimate supply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.”

Manila claims the shoals in the Spratly Islands as its own territory and has beached the World War II-era naval transport BRP Sierra Madre on the reef since late 1999.

Patrick Cronin, chairman of Asia-Pacific security at the Hudson Institute, told VOA via email on Tuesday that trilateral maritime patrols could provide “a level of deterrence and prevent Beijing from establishing de facto control over disputed waters and some areas.” control”. It clearly belongs to the Philippines. “

He continued, “China will not stop its ‘sovereignty enforcement’ efforts, using white hulls and maritime militias to impose its domestic laws on international waters, but it may have to shelve further claims in the face of unanimous opposition from three democratic democracies. nation.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA via email on Wednesday that “military cooperation between relevant countries must not interfere with the South China Sea disputes,” and called on the three allies to avoid actions that “harm the South China Sea disputes.” China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and security interests. “

Liu continued, “The South China Sea issue is an issue between China and some ASEAN countries.”

Among ASEAN members, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are official claimants to China, whose claims to nearly all of the resource-rich waters have been rejected by international courts.

Prashanth Parameswaran, a fellow at the Wilson Center and founder of the ASEAN Expert weekly, told VOA on Tuesday that “increasing patrols by more countries is one of the many ways to strengthen their presence and prevent the South China Sea from turning into a nightmare scenario. 1. China Lake.”

He continued, “Beyond alliance networks, the United States and its partners must find ways to work with Southeast Asian countries that are not formal allies but are also critical in countering China’s assertiveness.”