Joselito Malig

Marcos Jr. says PH-US alliance ‘preserving peace, stability’ in South China Sea

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

WASHINGTON DC — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday credited the Philippines and the United States’ alliance for helping in the preservation of peace and stability in the South China Sea.In his meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Marcos Jr. underscored Manila and Washington’s decades-long partnership and thanked the United States for its “continuing support… in terms of the modernization of our Armed Forces.”“That forms a very, very important part of that relationship and again, it is a proper response considering the challenges that we face in the Philippines specifically vis-à-vis the changing – geopolitical forces and the political developments around our part of the world,” the Chief Executive said.“I believe that our alliance, the United States and the Philippines, had formed a great part in terms of preserving the peace, in terms of preserving the stability of the South China Sea,” he said.“But I would even go as far as to say in the entire Indo-Pacific region,” he added.The Philippines is “always very, very happy to continue to strengthen that relationship,” Marcos Jr. told Hegseth.“We must continue to be in discussion. We must continue to evolve that relationship as the circumstances, the context in which we operate has evolved,” he said.<div>&quot;ASIA-PACIFIC IS OUR PRIORITY&quot;</div>Asia Pacific remains to be the United States’ “priority,” Hegseth told Marcos Jr., adding that Washington is “proud to support our mutual economic vitality, including your efforts to modernize your armed forces and collective defense.”<script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz86TOfDIfqXIe&amp;cid=ABcqPZzcsGD2OxIF"></script>“We do not seek confrontation, but we are and will be ready and resolute,” the US Defense chief said.“Our historic alliance has never been stronger or more essential than it is today,” he said.“Together we remained committed to the Mutual Defense Agreement, and this pact extends to armed attacks on our armed forces, aircraft, or public vessels including our Coast Guards anywhere in the Pacific including the South China Sea,” he said.The Philippines — under the Marcos Jr. administration — has renewed closer ties with the United States as China continued to illegally claim most of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s 9-dash line map.In March, Hegseth began his Southeast Asian tour in the Philippines, where the traditional allies renewed their commitment to their strategic partnership.“Your visit to Manila became a very strong message and very symbolic message of the continuing partnership between the Philippines and the United States, not only in the defense and security sector, but in all other fields,” Marcos Jr. said during their Pentagon meeting as he thanked the US for its “continuing support that we feel and that we need in the face of the threats that our country is facing.”“I’m very, very happy to note that the feedback that we get from our own military has been very good, and when I see the officers who are involved, when I speak with the men and women who are involved, they say it’s extremely useful,” the President said, referring to the joint exercises between the Philippines and the US.“Essentially we have achieved our purpose because they say they have learned a lot about how to operate together, not only with American forces but also with – as you mentioned, forces around the Asia Pacific and down to Australia and even to Canada and all of the other countries that have been involved,” he said.Under Marcos Jr.’s administration, the Philippines granted American troops access to more military bases in the Philippines under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).The Philippines’ 17th President has also authorized the entry and positioning of the US typhon missile in the Philippines, a move that has irked China as the mid-range capability poses a threat to major Chinese military and industrial centersSo far, Malacañang has yet to say if Marcos Jr. and Hegseth discussed a US Congressional panel’s plan to build an American ammunitions hub in Subic as the world’s top military power seeks to address the “lack of forward stage ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific.”<div> </div>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday credited the Philippines and the United States’ alliance for helping in the preservation of peace and stability in the South China Sea.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday credited the Philippines and the United States’ alliance for helping in the preservation of peace and stability in the South China Sea.