THERE will be no changes in the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the United States, and its implementation, whoever wins the November 5 US presidential race, Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said yesterday.
The MDT that was signed in 1951 binds both countries to come to each other’s aid in case of an armed invasion or attack.
“As I said, the defense establishment dito (here, in the US) is very much aligned with the way they want our lives to continue,” Romualdez told radio dzBB Monday when asked on what Washington’s stand will be on the MDT, whether the president will be current US Vice President and Democratic Party nominee or former US President Donald Trump of the Republican Party.
Washington has repeatedly assured Manila it will come to its aid if its forces come under attack in the South China Sea amid the maritime territorial dispute with Beijing.
Romualdez, who has been serving as Manila’s top envoy in Washington since 2017, said the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) would also not be affected if Harris or Trump wins the presidential race.
“Those agreements will also continue and we respect that,” he said.
The VFA governs the conduct of US military forces in the country when they are on training exercises or maneuvers with their Filipino counterparts while the EDCA allows the US to preposition military and humanitarian equipment at nine Philippine military bases, also called EDCA sites, on a temporary bases.
Romualdez on Sunday said he is confident relations between the Philippines and the US will remain strong regardless who becomes the next US president. He said the Harris and Trump camps, including their national security advisers, assured him the foreign policy will be the same.
He reiterated that yesterday, saying Harris, when she visited Manila in 2022, affirmed Washington’s commitment to its treaty ally and to the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which junked Beijing’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea.
Trump, he added, also affirmed the US’ ironclad commitment to the Philippines.
Over four million Filipino-Americans live in the US, and almost 300,000 American citizens reside in the Philippines.
