Philippine, Japan and United States officials discussed the situation in the South China Sea in a trilateral meeting in Jakarta where they attended the 43rd ASEAN Summit.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held informal talks with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and United States Vice President Kamala Harris, at the gala dinner Wednesday.

The three leaders visited Jakarta to attend the ASEAN Summit hosted by the government of Indonesia this week.

"Prime Minister Kishida exchanged views with President Marcos and Vice President Harris on the current situation surrounding the South China Sea, and concurred with them to jointly tackle unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force," said MOFA.

"Prime Minister Kishida, President Marcos and Vice President Harris confirmed that the three countries would continue to promote the further strengthening of coordination among Japan, the U.S., and the Philippines in various ways," it added.

In a brief meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the summit, Marcos said the Philippines will continue to push for cooperation and more partnership and collaboration with Beijing.

In a Facebook post, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos and Chinese Premier Li Qiang briefly conferred after the former delivered his intervention during the ASEAN-China Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday.

"The President said that the Philippines will continue to push for cooperation with China and work towards more partnerships and collaboration," the PCO stated in a Facebook post on Thursday. Robina Asido/DMS