A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to take place in the first half of 2025, according to Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.
Romualdez also announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to visit the Philippines in April, coinciding with the upcoming visit of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 28-29. Hegseth is set to meet with President Marcos and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro during his trip.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, Hegseth’s visit aims to “advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with U.S. and Philippine forces” as part of efforts to strengthen the alliance between the two countries.
Earlier, Romualdez stated that the planned meeting between the US and Philippine presidents is awaiting confirmation from the White House.
“President Marcos also is quite busy with the campaign here. So, we’d like to make sure that the timing is just perfect for both leaders to have that meeting,” he added.
Romualdez emphasized that Marcos is eager to meet with his US counterpart and is prepared to travel to Washington as soon as Trump’s schedule allows.
The Philippine and US Defense chiefs will meet on Friday in Manila, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Monday.
In an advisory released to reporters by DND, US Defense chief Pete Hegseth will visit Camp Aguinaldo, where the DND headquarters are situated, on 28 March.
He will also have a meeting with DND Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. DND did not disclose the meeting agenda for Friday.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier announced on that the upcoming visit of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to the Philippines is aimed at bolstering the modernization efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
He further emphasized that this visit underscores the importance of the longstanding defense alliance between the Philippines and the United States.
The Philippines’ defense chief remained tight-lipped when asked whether Washington is seeking to expand its access to Manila bases, or if the discussions would include the deployment of US Typhon missiles—a sensitive issue for China.
“The content? Let’s wait for the meeting,” Teodoro said. “All I can say is we will talk about our existing partnerships, bilaterally and multilaterally, and how to move it further.”
The US Department of Defense announced that Hegseth will visit the Philippines to strengthen security ties with government leaders and military forces. With Rex Espiritu
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos-Trump meeting ‘possible’ in first half of 2025 – envoy.”