Manila, July 12 -- The Philippines, the United States, and Japan are focused on developing their trilateral economic partnership to complement their growing security ties, the US State Department said Saturday.

The foreign ministers of the three states - Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japan Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi - discussed the plan and the need to unlock more private sector investments in their flagship Luzon Economic Corridor during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia on July 10, it said in a statement.

The State Department said Rubio highlighted Manila's wealth in critical minerals and stressed the need to diversify critical mineral sup...