The U.S., Japan and the Philippines will launch joint naval patrols in the South China Sea later this year, according to a U.S. official and a foreign diplomat familiar with the planning. It’s a major move to counter China in the region — and one likely to elicit a strong response from Beijing. The three-country naval maneuvers are part of a package of initiatives that President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will unveil at their first-ever trilateral summit next month, the official and the diplomat said. The White House is also expected to announce that it will “seriously consider” having Japan as a technological partner in elements of the “AUKUS” security partnership between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, according to a Defense Department official and another person familiar with the planning, both granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement.
