WE all know that the Philippines and the United States have shared decades of friendship, cooperation and mutual security, as various accords continue to bind the Philippines to its former colonial master since the turn of the 20th century.
Recent developments in diplomacy, however, point to the fact that the US is increasingly giving the Philippines more importance than before.
This can easily be discerned, going by the number of visits recently by top American officials to Manila. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday night, joining other high-ranking US officials in back-to-back visits here under the Marcos administration.
Before Austin, there was US Vice President Kamala Harris, who was here in November last year, meeting with President Marcos Jr. and touring the country with special emphasis on Palawan which is the Philippine island nearest the South China Sea flashpoint areas.
Harris was followed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who conferred with the President and the DFA secretary on bilateral diplomatic matters.
‘It will take an actual security emergency to test if these assurances will hold water, but still the thought that our western friends value our long-time friendship is encouraging.’
In every visit of these key American officials, reaffirmation of friendship and cooperation between the two nations was always cited, although we see no reason or dent in such a relationship to merit reassurances of support.
Secretary Austin’s visit will bolster the American agenda of advancing its interest in the Indo-Pacific region, promoting freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and assuring security and military support for the Philippines in case of “trouble” in those waters.
The Pentagon’s chief was also in Manila last July 2021 during his Southeast Asian trip, wherein he held high-level meetings with Filipino officials on security issues. This time around, he decided to stop by Manila from his South Korean trip where he held high-level discussions with his counterpart in Seoul.
In welcoming the defense chief, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said Austin’s visit “shows the United States’ ironclad commitment to our #FriendsPartnersAllies.”
Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder earlier said Austin’s trips to the Philippines and South Korea this year will reaffirm Washington’s “deep commitment to working in concert with allies and partners to chart our shared vision to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Without saying it directly, the US government is actively sending its officials to the Asian region in connection with the ongoing tension in the South China Sea engendered by conflicting territorial claims by China and several ASEAN countries including the Philippines.
The Pentagon chief has repeatedly criticized China’s actions in the hotly contested sea, where Beijing has overlapping claims with several states in the region, saying it “has no basis in international law.”
While we do not countenance any escalation of tension in the Southeast Asian region, it is still reassuring to hear that the United States values its long years of friendship and alliance with the Philippines.
It will take an actual security emergency to test if these assurances will hold water, but still the thought that our western friends value our long-time friendship is encouraging.
