PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday left for the United States to forge stronger ties between the two countries and strengthen cooperation in the areas of food security, digital economy, energy security, and climate change.
The President also said the official visit will “reaffirm our commitment to fostering our longstanding alliance as an instrument of peace and as a catalyst of development.”
The President stressed all his foreign travels, including the April 30 to May 4 official visit to the United States, are important especially in advancing the Philippines’ national interests and in strengthening global alliances.
“My visit is an important one, as they all are, because they are part of our efforts to further reinforce our already strong bonds with the United States by bringing our alliance into the 21st century. This visit builds on the active exchanges we have had, particularly in the last couple of months,” he said before taking off off from the Villamor Airbase before 2 p.m.
The President was referring to his meeting with President Joseph Biden in New York in September 2022, the visit to Manila of Vice President Kamala Harris in November last year, visits of senior officials from both sides, and the recent 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in the US attended by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr.
Marcos said his meeting with Biden on May 1 is essential to advancing the country’s interests and in strengthening the alliance between the United States and the Philippines.
‘ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT’
He said he will convey the Philippine commitment to “forge an ever stronger relationship” and pursuit of other areas of cooperation that would help address not just the “concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests” such as food security, agricultural productivity development, and digital economy, energy security, climate change, cybersecurity, and resilience from threats to the economy including global supply chain disruptions and economic coercion.
“Towards this end, one of my priorities for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment, and science, technology, and innovation cooperation, between the United States and the Philippines,” he added.
Aside from his meeting with Biden, the President and his economic team would also meet with American business to promote trade and investment in the Philippines as well as explore business opportunities between US and Filipino private businesses leaders, and with legislators.
“I intend to speak and find opportunities in the semiconductor industry, critical minerals, renewable and clean energy, including nuclear, and infrastructure projects that will improve our digital telecommunication systems and facilitate sustainability efforts to address climate change,” Marcos added.
The President is also set to meet with the Filipino community in Washington and surrounding areas and thank them for their continued contribution to the Philippines’ economic prosperity.
The President left at around 2 p.m. yesterday accompanied by First Lady Liza Marcos and several Cabinet members.
Vice President Sara Duterte heads the caretaker committee while the president is abroad.
After the US trip, Marcos is set to fly to London for the coronation of King Charles on May 6, and to Indonesia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS
Marcos’ official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years, and the latest in a series of high-level meetings the Philippines has held with leaders of the United States and China, which are jostling for strategic advantage in the region.
Biden and Marcos are expected to reach agreements on greater business engagement, as well as “military enhancements” amid shared concerns about China, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters.
The senior US administration official said it was impossible to underestimate the strategic importance of the Philippines, although the relationship was more than just about security.
The official said that as part of moves to boost commercial ties, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo would a lead a presidential business delegation to the Philippines.
While Marcos was seeking good relations with both China and the United States, Manila was increasingly concerned about “provocative” diplomacy by Beijing and seeking stronger ties with allies, he said.
“We’re seeking not to be provocative, but to provide both moral and practical support for the Philippines as they try to make their way in a complex Western Pacific,” the official said.
“Their geographic position is critical,” he added.
Experts say Washington sees the Philippines as a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
CHINA ISSUE
Marcos’ Washington visit comes after Philippines on Friday accused China’s coast guard of “dangerous maneuvers” and “aggressive tactics” in the South China Sea. The maritime confrontation between the two countries comes despite a visit to Manila this weekend by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
In the face of such pressure from China, the Philippines and the United States have rapidly stepped up defense engagements, including large-scale military exercises and a recent expansion of US access to Philippine bases. China has objected to the bases agreement.
Alluding to the difficult period in bilateral relations under Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, the official said Monday’s summit would be part of efforts to build the “habits of alliance management” back to levels of the 1970s and 1980s.
The official said the US planned to enhance trilateral dialogue with Japan and the Philippines, and Marcos would have discussions at the Pentagon about joint maritime patrols.
“We will and have stepped up our broader regional security discussions with the Philippines on all the issues in the South China Sea and elsewhere,” the official said, a reference to Manila’s disputed maritime claims with China and other nations.
Separately, the official said no final decision had been made on whether Biden would stop in Papua New Guinea next month as part of stepped-up engagement with the Pacific-island region, but Washington was “in active discussions no matter what about our direct high-level interactions with the Pacific.” — With Reuters
