Philippines, Japan and United States foreign ministers will hold a trilateral meeting in Manila ahead of their leaders' summit in Washington DC in April.

Sources said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will visit Manila next week.

Blinken, who will arrive on March 18, will have bilateral talks with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and other senior Philippine officials before the trilateral ministerial meeting with Kamikawa on March 20.

The top agenda of the talks that will also focus on bolstering defense and economic ties between the three countries is the scheduled trilateral summit of US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House in Washington DC on April 11.

Sources noted that Marcos who will arrive in the US on April 11 will initially have a bilateral meeting with Biden at the White House before they will be joined by Kishida in a trilateral summit on the same day.

During his visit, Marcos will also meet top US defense and security officials. He will also speak in a business forum organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council and meet the Filipino community before returning to Manila on April 13. Robina Asido/DMS