MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. will be in Washington next week as the United States and the Philippines discuss ways to further develop key areas of bilateral cooperation.
The meeting coincides with the April 11 opening ceremony of this year’s war games back home, with over 17,000 American, Filipino, and Australian troops participating in this year’s Balikatan. Manalo and Galvez, along with the Philippine delegation, will be in Washington DC from April 10 to 12.
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Manalo and Galvez will be meeting with their counterparts, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III – both of whom have already visited Manila.
In August last year, US top diplomat Blinken reaffirmed US’ “iron-clad commitment” to its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. US Defense Secretary Austin’s visit in February, on the other hand, saw the announcement of four new approved sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, officials will hold talks on “important global prosperity issues” such as energy, security, trade and economic cooperation. The Philippines also sees the meeting as a way to further develop existing areas of bilateral cooperation."
Talks will also cover “identifying concrete initiatives for promoting regional security, achieving mutual economic prosperity, modernizing the alliance, and countering terrorism and other transnational crimes.”
This year’s 2+2 meeting will be the third iteration of the ministerial dialogues, which was established in 2012 and it will be the first session held since 2016. The Philippines has sought warmer diplomacy and defense ties with the United States under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration.
While there, the DFA said Manalo will also be a keynote speaker at the CSIS ASEAN Leadership Forum to discuss how the alliance stands in the Philippines’ policies. – Kaycee Valmonte