President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday secured a commitment from the American government that it would assist the Philippines in modernizing its defense capabilities.
During his visit to Manila, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III told Mr. Marcos that Americans and Filipinos will gain a lot from strengthening their military alliance.
“From the defense perspective, we will continue to work together with our great partners and build and modernize your capabilities as well as increase our interoperability,” Austin told the President.
Austin said the Philippines is a “key and important ally” of the US, adding that the Biden administration seeks to “strengthen that relationship in every way possible.”
For his part, Marcos emphasized that the “future of the Philippines” will “always involve the United States,” citing the country’s and the Asia Pacific region’s historic partnership with the US.
Marcos’s pivot back to the US is in stark contrast, observers noted, to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s closeness with China and Russia early in the latter’s presidency.
Marcos has described the two nations’ partnerships as “strong and so historically embedded in our common psyches.”
“And as we traverse these rather troubled waters, geopolitical waters, the economic waters that we are facing, I again put great importance on that partnership, specifically with the United States, but on all partnerships and alliances that we are able to make with our friends around the world,” Marcos said.
Analysts said more powerful defense capabilities would help the Philippines safeguard its territories from external forces, especially in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
Empathizing with the victims of the recent earthquake in Mindanao, Austin said the US is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the tremor that rocked a Davao de Oro town this week.
“I’m relieved to hear from my team that the damage was not significant, at least that’s what we understand thus far, and of course, we have not heard of significant injuries being reported as well, but we know how these things develop,” he told the President.
The magnitude 6 earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, rocked New Bataan in Davao de Oro at 6:44 p.m. last Wednesday.
Austin arrived in Manila Tuesday evening to meet with his counterpart in Manila with a mission to build a stronger bilateral relationship with the Philippines and tackle security initiatives, as well as ways to promote a “free and open Pacific.”