The country cannot afford to be complacent despite its “increased and intensified” defense and security relations with the United States, President Marcos said Saturday (Manila time).
“We have come a long way…But we cannot sit back and say that the mission has been accomplished quite yet,” he said in an interview in Washington.
“The nature, the intensity, and the potential disastrous consequences of the security threats facing us today necessitate that we work harder and continuously improve.”
During his meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III at the Pentagon, Mr. Marcos said trilateral alliance with the United States and Japan would usher in sustained peace and stability in the South China Sea.
“I view the new agreements, and the new partnerships and alliances that we have forged, including the trilateral agreement, not as a response to any particular challenge or threat but merely a continuing development and evolution of the relationship that we have been fostering over a hundred years,” he said.
Austin, for his part, said US President Joe Biden is seeking $128 million in congressional allocation budget to execute projects for Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines.
“That would more than double the amount that we’ve invested in EDCA infrastructure. All these underscores the strength of our alliances further, and so I look forward to hearing your views on how we can keep working together more closely than ever, including through cooperation with like-minded partners,” the Pentagon chief said.
Speaker Romualdez, for his part, said Mr. Marcos scored a “strategic victory” with the trilateral alliance.
“The commitment of the United States and Japan to support the Philippines in defending its sovereignty and promoting regional peace is a testament to the strength of bilateral and multilateral partnerships in addressing complex security challenges,” Romualdez said.
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President Marcos said Vice President Sara Duterte’s silence on China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea does not mean she is not aligned with the government’s foreign policy.
“That’s not the role of the Vice President or the Secretary of Education to talk about China, so I think we are all in line,” Mr. Marcos said in an interview in Washington.
“I’m very sure that if Inday Sara had some very serious misgivings about what we are doing in terms of foreign policies, she will bring them to me,” he added.
Duterte was previously asked about her take on the incursions in the WPS.
The Vice President broke her silence, but only to give a “no comment” response.
Last month, her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, said it was not her job to “demonize China or any country for that matter.”
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