Biden dispatching Sullivan to Tokyo for talks with Japan, Philippines, South Korea officials

By AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Tokyo this week for talks with his counterparts from Japan, Philippines and South Korea. The White House National Security Council said in a statement Tuesday that Sullivan will also take part in “the first-ever trilateral meeting of the Japanese, Philippine, and U.S. national security advisers” while in Japan. Sullivan’s visit comes after U.S., Japanese and Philippine coast guard ships staged law enforcement drills in waters near the disputed South China Sea earlier this month. Washington has stepped up efforts to reinforce alliances in Asia amid an increasingly tense rivalry with China.