One senior administration official stated, “Our alliance with the Philippines is the oldest in the Indo-Pacific and has never been stronger.”
President Joe Biden is gearing up for a second day of strengthening alliances in the Indo-Pacific region by holding a bilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. This will be followed by a historic trilateral meeting involving Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
During a call on April 10, a senior administration official emphasized the enduring strength of the alliance with the Philippines, highlighting defense and security ties as a cornerstone of the relationship.
Anticipated announcements include joint Coast Guard activities in the Indo-Pacific, with plans for training and collaboration between the U.S., Philippine, and Japanese Coast Guards. The focus will be on enhancing cooperation and capacity in areas such as ballistic missile defense.
The United States, Japan, and the Philippines are expected to engage in more trilateral military exercises to bolster coordination and interoperability. The goal is to support the modernization of the Philippine military and enhance disaster response capabilities.
Additionally, trilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster response initiatives will be launched, including pre-positioning of relief supplies by USAID and the Department of Defense for the Philippines’ disaster response authority.
The meeting between Presidents Biden and Marcos comes at a critical time given China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea. The U.S. has recently expanded defense cooperation with the Philippines and provided additional military financing in response to Chinese pressure.
The two leaders are expected to announce new infrastructure and economic projects, focusing on areas such as undersea cables, clean energy, ports, and telecommunications. Investments in semiconductor supply chains and the establishment of an O-RAN economy in Manila are also on the agenda.
The visit by President Marcos follows a productive meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida, where they deepened their cooperation on defense, economic security, global diplomacy, and climate change. They also discussed collaboration in space exploration, with a Japanese astronaut set to participate in NASA’s Artemis program.
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