By Simon Lewis and Karen Lima
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told U.S. Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin on Tuesday that regular communication between Manila and Washington is needed to ensure “agile” responses to maritime tensions between his country and China.
The Philippines, a US ally, has repeatedly engaged in naval skirmishes with China, the US’s main rival in the Indo-Pacific region, in the past year, but the two sides have now reached a “temporary arrangement” to ease tensions and manage differences.
Marcos welcomed Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin to Malacañang Palace Tuesday morning ahead of meetings with their Filipino counterparts, the first such meetings hosted by the Philippines.
“I am always very happy that these lines of communication are so open that all the things that we do together, in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context of our situation here, in the West Philippine Sea and in the Indo-Pacific region, are constantly being examined and re-examined so that we are more agile in terms of our responses,” Marcos said.
The Philippines has competing claims with China to the waters to its west, also known as the South China Sea. China claims 90% of the sea as its sovereign territory.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken and Austin discussed with Marcos “their shared commitment to upholding international law in the South China Sea.”
“The two ministers reaffirmed the United States’ strong commitment to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Miller said in a statement after the meeting.
At the start of the meeting, Marcus said he was “a little surprised” to see the two ministers given how “exciting” the political situation in the United States is, referring to President Joe Biden ending his re-election campaign this month and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to face former President Donald Trump in the November election. Blinken offered Marcus greetings from Harris, as well as from Biden.
There is a “steady rhythm of very high-level engagements in our two countries that cover the full range of issues and opportunities that bring us together not just security-wise, but also economically,” said Blinken, the top US diplomat.
