Philippines, US stress need to sustain, elevate alliance

MANILA, Philippines — The top diplomats of the Philippines and the United States emphasized on Tuesday the need to maintain and strengthen their cooperation in the face of growing tension in the region.

“We’ve been on hyperdrive over the past years. Engagements across issues and areas and between and among government branches,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo said at a joint press conference with US State Secretary Antony Blinken.

“The challenge now is how to sustain and further elevate our alliance and partnership,” Manalo added.

Blinken is in Manila to hold talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose administration has sought to strengthen ties with the US.

His trip comes ahead of a three-way summit in Washington next Month between US President Joe Biden, Marcos, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. 

Blinken called the expansion of partnership between the Philippines and the US “extraordinary.”

“The alliance has never been stronger. But we do not only have to sustain that, we have to continue to accelerate the momentum,” Blinken said. 

‘Ironclad’ defense commitment

“We have a shared concern about the People’s Republic of China’s actions that threaten our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea and in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” Blinken said. 

“These waterways are critical to the Philippines, to its security and economy. But it’s also critical to the interest of the region, the US, and the world,” he added.

Relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated following incidents involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea, including collisions and firing of water cannons. 

Blinken stressed that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US is “ironclad.” 

According to Blinken, the MDT extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft—including those of its Coast Guard—anywhere in the South China Sea. — Gaea Katreena Cabico