President Joe Biden convened the first-ever trilateral summit between the leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines at the White House on Thursday, where the president vowed a “new era of partnership” between the three nations.

The summit itself comes as China continues aggressive posturing in the South China Sea, including frequent incidents in recent months between the Chinese and Philippine navies. Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit on Wednesday, and Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos visited the White House last spring.

Biden told reporters at the top of the meeting that he, Kishida, and Marcos would discuss clean energy initiatives, semiconductor supply chains, and “deepening our maritime and security ties.”

“This is something I know you’ve discussed with Vice President Harris during her travel to the Indo-Pacific,” the president said to the two leaders. “I want to be clear. The United States — the United States’s defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad. They’re ironclad.”

Biden specifically reiterated that “any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or armed forces in the South China Sea” by China “would invoke our mutual defense treaty.”

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The president also announced a new economic corridor in the Philippines nested under the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the first such corridor to be stood up in the Indo-Pacific.

“It means more jobs for people across the entire region,” Biden said. “It means more investment in sectors critical to our future: clean energy, ports, railroads, agriculture, and much more.”