Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — “I’m encouraged by the efforts of the U.S./Japan/Philippines Summit, because U.S. commitment to the Pacific region is of utmost importance,” Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata said in a press release issued on Monday, April 15. 

“The Pacific Islands take note of U.S. and allied involvement for the stability of the region. Japan is a longtime economic strong point in the Indo-Pacific and a key ally in a defensive role. The Philippines are in a strategic location, a valuable trade partner, and have additional growth potential. The trilateral cooperation and economic development partnerships for the Philippines announced with the U.S. and Japan will play a role in the region-wide future. I’ve been welcomed to both countries in the last few years, and met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others leaders. In American Samoa, I know we have some Filipino friends, including nurses, among us who will welcome good news for their homeland.”

In Congress, Aumua Amata serves as Vice Chairman of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She served as the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee’s Task Force on the Indo-Pacific, which aided Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman in the 20-year Compacts of Free Association legislation. She also is a co-chair of the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus.

BACKGROUND

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, President Joe Biden and his counterparts, Kishida Fumio and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., held the first-ever U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral summit on April 11.

It was a manifestation of the importance of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, which emphasizes both military and economic security in cooperation with partners and allies. The Biden administration has emphasized that both economic and military support are necessary to ensure deep and resilient partnerships. That is especially true in this case, as the three leaders pledged to work toward a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific “for decades to come.”

The trilateral meeting and subsequent announcements unveiled further investments building on this economic engagement, which also reflect national security concerns around encroaching Chinese investments through its Belt and Road Initiative and digital infrastructure projects. The United States and Japan aim to accelerate investments in the Philippines both through their own public and private sectors and also through the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) initiative.