A top security adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte reaffirmed the importance of the security alliance between the Philippines and the United States.
In a meeting at Washington, D.C. last Thursday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon met for the first time with his counterpart John Bolton to ensure the Philippine government’s commitment to maintain a strong security relations with the global power United States.
Esperon, together with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, met with Ambassador Bolton at the White House for a meeting relating to PH-US security.
“Our meeting with Ambassador Bolton provided us with an opportunity to discuss how we could work together to further strengthen our security alliance,” Esperon said.
Bolton once served as US permanent representative to the United Nations before his appointment as National Security Adviser by President Trump in April.
During the meeting, Esperon discussed with Bolton issues relating to terrorism and other regional security concerns, including the South China Sea issue and the positive outlook in the Korean Peninsula.
Esperon’s meeting with Bolton came barely bared their depressing plight at the hands of Chinese Philippine Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea, particularly off the Scarborough Shoal.
Filipinos fishing inside the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone off Scarborough Shoal had complained that Chinese Coast Guard personnel were sorting high-value fish on their boat in exchange for cigarettes.
In the same meeting, Esperon expressed Manila’s gratitude for the assistance Washington has extended during last year’s siege in Marawi and its commitment to contribute to the rehabilitation of the Islamic City.
At the height of the battle for liberation of Marawi City from the Islamic State-inspired terrorists, the U.S. provided surveillance aircraft to Philippine security forces to pinpoint the positions of the terrorists.