What Biden’s Meeting With Philippine President Marcos Could Bring
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 scheduled for a second day of enhancing alliances in the Indo-Pacific with a bilateral summit meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., followed by the first-ever trilateral meeting between them and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
During a call on April 10, a senior administration official reiterated, “Our alliance with the Philippines is the oldest in the Indo-Pacific and has never been stronger.” They highlighted that defense and security ties remain a cornerstone of this alliance.
The announcement of Joint Coast Guard activity in the coming year is anticipated, where members of the Philippine and Japanese Coast Guards will collaborate with the U.S. Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific for training and coordination.
Furthermore, there could be additional trilateral military exercises as the United States and Japan work closely with the Philippines to enhance cooperative capacity. The focus is on better integrating ballistic missile and air defense capabilities across the Indo-Pacific to uphold international law. However, this vision may take a few years to materialize.
The primary objective of these exercises, as mentioned by an official, is to aid in the military modernization of the Philippines and enhance coordination and interoperability with other militaries. They aim to facilitate monitoring assistance and disaster response.
Additionally, the United States will unveil trilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster response initiatives, including the launch of new projects in collaboration with USAID and the Department of Defense to pre-position humanitarian relief supplies for Philippine disaster response efforts.
The meeting between the two presidents is crucial given the current challenges posed by Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The United States has recently expanded cooperation with the Philippines by adding new sites under the existing enhanced defense agreement and providing an additional $100 million in foreign military financing.
New infrastructure projects and economic investments are expected to be announced, focusing on undersea cables, clean energy, ports, rail, telecommunications, and semiconductor supply chains.
President Biden and President Marcos are anticipated to discuss shared values, including human rights and labor rights, during their meeting.
