Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos discussed the alliance between the Philippines and the United States with President-elect Trump on Tuesday, expressing the desire of both sides to strengthen this deep relationship.
“Very friendly” and “very productive” were how Marcos described the phone call with Trump and mentioned his plans to meet with Trump as soon as possible.
During his two years in office, Marcos has enhanced defense relations between Manila and Washington as both countries face common security challenges in the region.
Marcos has been working to rebuild the damaged relationship between the two countries during the tenure of his predecessor Duterte. Last year, Marcos made an official visit to the United States, the first by a Philippine president in over a decade.
Marcos is the son of late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos. After the fall of the Marcos regime in the 1986 “People Power Revolution,” the United States helped the couple flee to Hawaii.
Marcos mentioned that Trump inquired about his 95-year-old mother, saying, “He asked, ‘How is Imelda?’ I told him, ‘She congratulates you (on the election).'”
The Philippines was once a colony of the United States, and now this island nation is seen as a core ally for the U.S. in countering China’s increasingly assertive policies in the South China Sea and Taiwan.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited the Western Command of the Philippine military on Balabac Island near the South China Sea on Tuesday, reiterating Washington’s commitment to the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Austin emphasized during a joint press conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro that the U.S.-Philippine alliance will transcend changes in government.
“We are resolute in our commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty. Let me reiterate, the Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the armed forces, aircraft, or public vessels (including coast guards) of either side in armed attacks in any location in the South China Sea.”
In recent years, China has been pressuring the Philippines in the disputed waters of the South China Sea in a provocative manner, making the strategic waterway a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a crucial passage for maritime trade worth over $3 trillion annually. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s claim had no legal basis. China rejected the ruling, but Washington, which supported the decision, stated that it was binding.
(This article referenced reporting from Reuters)