Existing defence agreements between security allies the Philippines and United States will remain intact under US President Donald Trump, Manila’s ambassador to the United States said.
For his part, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is ready to travel when Trump has time for a meeting and that could be in the northern spring, Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters on the sidelines of a forum with foreign media in Manila.
Asked about US security support for the Philippines, including military financing, patrols in the South China Sea and Philippine defence facilities currently used by US forces under their alliance, Romualdez said, “All of that will remain.”
The United States and former colony the Philippines are staunch defence allies, with US troops rotating in and out of the South-East Asian country regularly and dozens of joint exercises held each year.
The United States has also deployed to the Philippines a Typhon multi-purpose missile system for training purposes, angering China, which has repeatedly said the move poses a threat to regional stability.
The Philippines was seeking to import liquefied natural gas from the United States as part of a “give and take” on trade, said Romualdez, who is a cousin of Marcos and was posted in Washington under the previous Manila administration. — Reuters
