Biden Hosts First Summit With Leaders of Japan, Philippines as China Threat Looms

The president predicted that ‘a great deal of history’ will be written in the coming years.

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (L) at the White House in Washington on April 11, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden on April 11 hosted the first-ever trilateral summit meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.

The primary goal of the summit was to strengthen defense ties between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines in the face of China’s more aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific.