Manila, Jan. 22 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has affirmed the United States' commitment to sustaining its trilateral cooperation with the Philippines and Japan under the administration of President Donald Trump.

The new US top diplomat made the reiteration during a bilateral meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi in Washington DC on Jan. 22 (Manila time).

In a readout, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "The two Ministers concurred on the importance of further developing coordination of like-minded countries, including Japan-US-Republic of Korea, Japan-Australia-India-US, and Japan-US-Philippines."

A separate State Department statement said the two officials also discussed how the US and Japan can work...