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TOKYO: The leaders of Japan and the Philippines head to Washington this week for a first trilateral summit aimed at boosting defense ties, hot on the heels of four-way military drills in the South China Sea that riled Beijing.

A major upgrade of military command structures between the United States and an increasingly self-confident Japan could be announced, as well as joint coast guard patrols with Manila in areas disputed with China.

Also on the agenda will be securing access to vital supplies such as semiconductors and rare metals, North Korea’s growing belligerence, and the Japanese takeover of US Steel opposed by President Joe Biden.

The talks will “advance a trilateral partnership built on deep historical ties of friendship, robust and growing economic relations ... and a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the White House said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday before leaving Tokyo that the Japan-US relationship is “more ironclad than ever” and that his trip will “demonstrate this message to the world.”

China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said it was “opposed to the cobbling together of exclusive small circles and to confrontation between different groups in the region.”

Kishida will become the first Japanese premier since Shinzo Abe in 2015 to be received with full honors on Wednesday at the White House, including a gala dinner and Rose Garden news conference.

The 66-year-old will then address both houses of Congress on Thursday before convening with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Biden for the countries’ first trilateral summit.

Biden, 81, and Marcos, 66, who is seen as closer to Washington than his more China-leaning predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, will also hold separate talks.

They are the latest Asia-Pacific allies to be hosted by Biden, who was joined by Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August.

Biden has also moved to manage tensions with China, holding a two-hour phone call with President Xi Jinping last week and a face-to-face meeting in San Francisco in November.

Staunchly pacifist for decades, Japan has in recent years made “some of the most significant, momentous changes” since World War II, US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said ahead of the visit.

This includes plans to double military spending, buying US Tomahawk missiles, easing rules on exporting weapons and creating a joint operations command for its Self-Defense Forces.

It is also providing funding and equipment such as patrol vessels to countries across the region and is in talks with the Philippines about allowing troop deployments on each other’s soil.

According to media reports, Biden and Kishida could agree to the biggest upgrade in US-Japan command and control structures in decades to make their militaries more nimble in a crisis, for example, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.