Marcos to discuss climate change, defense deals with Biden
MANILA, Philippines — Climate change and defense deals will be the center of the talks between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden next week as they meet to affirm the "special relationship" of the Philippines and the United States.
Marcos Jr. will be on an official working visit to the US from April 30 to May 4, just days after the annual military exercises between Philippine and US troops wrap up and weeks after the countries’ respective foreign affairs and defense officials met for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
"Climate change is a big deal and we will be asking for help on what else we can do and what other strategy we can use," Marcos Jr. said.
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He added that they also plan to revisit the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty, saying “we have to evolve it” taking into consideration the developments in the region.
The chief executive also stressed that the Philippine delegation will also seek more projects and partnerships to pursue with the US.
Marcos Jr. and Biden met for the first time in September last year at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. They discussed then the alliance between Manila and Washington, South China Sea tensions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other topics.
10th official foreign trip
This will be Marcos Jr.’s 10th official foreign trip as the Philippine president since taking office last year. He has fended off criticism of his frequent travel, saying the Philippines needs to court investors.
He was also criticized for flying to Singapore in October just days after Typhoon Karding hit the country, affecting millions of individuals and damaged agriculture worth billions. Marcos Jr. concurrently sits as the country’s agriculture chief.
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In September last year, he went on a state visit to Indonesia and Singapore, before heading to the US for the United Nations General Assembly weeks after. He also went on working visits to Cambodia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, Belgium for the ASEAN-European Union Commemorative Summit, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, and Japan.
His first foreign trip this year was a state visit to China in early January.
Marcos Jr. previously said he wanted to introduce himself to the international community because he was the "new kid on the block" and wanted to improve the visibility of the Philippines in the international arena to woo potential investors.
"We're cutting our travels for the rest of the year now because we want to take inventory of what we started with while attending the ASEAN Summit, APEC, even the work we did with the EU in Brussels, as well as the trip to Davos," Marcos Jr. said in Filipino during an interview with news anchors in January.
"We need to take into account what we had agreed upon and take stock of the discussions and decide which ones to prioritize, none of which we’ve done yet because we keep going out of the country."
RELATED: Marcos to travel abroad less, but APEC in November still a priority
After the United States, Marcos Jr. will be heading to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of Charles III. He will also be attending the 42nd ASEAN Summit, which will be held in Indonesia from May 9 to 11.
— Kaycee Valmonte
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