President Marcos joins US business leaders during the Philippines-US Business Forum in Washington, where he outlined initiatives aimed at enhancing economic cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, semiconductors, clean energy and agriculture.WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Friday assured the Philippines anew that the US commitment to the country’s defense is steadfast amid increasing concerns about provocative Chinese actions in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
“We very much welcome this opportunity to pursue that cooperation, that collaboration and of course we stand with the Philippines in our iron-clad defense commitments, including the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Blinken added.“We attach a lot of importance to this meeting, especially in light of recent developments in the South China Sea, especially China’s escalation of its harassment,” he said. “We are determined to assert our sovereign rights, especially within our exclusive economic zone.
On Thursday at the summit, Biden said the US treaty obligations to its Pacific allies, like Japan and the Philippines, were “ironclad.” Speaking at the US State Department, Manalo accused China of “escalation of its harassment” of the Philippines, while Austin said Washington stood with Manila against what he described as “coercion.”
Two prominent US senators this week introduced a bipartisan bill to provide the Philippines with $2.5 billion over five years, funding needed to modernize the US ally’s long-neglected armed forces. “That has included strengthening the US alliance to deter China from using military force and building up the capacity of the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy to maintain access to its waters despite China’s coercion,” Poling said.The United States has vowed to increase its support for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to improve interoperability and achieve shared security objectives at the inaugural US-Philippines 3+3 Meeting.
“The parties further decided to explore additional opportunities to strengthen global support for upholding the international law of the sea,” the statement read.
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