The first trilateral meeting among the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines was held at the White House last Thursday to expand a web of security and economic alliances in the Indo-Pacific. According to Kyodo News, U.S., Japan, Philippine leaders "show united front against China". In this regard, Warwick Powell, professor at Queensland University of Technology, shared his thoughts.
In addition, Powell added that the long-standing modus operandi of the U.S. has been to create instability through provoking countries and pushing the boundaries, which enables the U.S. to pursue a divide-and-conquer strategy in an environment where it believes it can't dominate.
