President Ferdinand Marcos welcomed United States Secretaries Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin to the Philippines on Tuesday to discuss the further deepening of bilateral ties between the two nations.
“I’m always very happy that these communication lines are very open so that all the things that we are doing together, in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context of our situation here in the West Philippine Sea and the Indo-Pacific are continuously examined and re-examined so we are agile in terms of our responses,” Mr. Marcos said.
Blinken and Austin are in the Philippines for the Fourth Philippines-United States 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with their Filipino counterparts Secretaries Enrique Manalo and Gilberto Teodoro, Jr.
This policy-level dialogue is co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense, along with the US Department of State and Department of Defense.
“But we are very happy to see you once again. I’m a bit surprised considering how interesting your political situation has become back in the States, but I’m glad that you found the time to come and visit with us,” The President stated, citing the recent development in US politics.
For his part, Blinken thanked the President for the warm welcome as he extended greetings from the US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Mr. President, thank you so much. Thank you for the, as always, the warm welcome. I bring you greetings from President Biden, Vice President Harris, along with Secretary Austin. We’re very, very pleased to be here,” Blinken said.
Blinken also extended condolences to the victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines, offering U.S. assistance.
The US State secretary called the meeting “historic”, citing the first time the 2+2 meeting is taking place in Manila where the previous meetings were held in Washington, D.C.
Austin reaffirmed Blinken’s views, emphasizing the strong ties between the Philippines and the US.
“We’re more than allies, we’re family and it always feels that way, when, you know, I’m working with our colleagues,” Austin stated.
“You know, we have common interests, common values and so I think we’ve done a lot for the last three and a half years to continue to strengthen our alliance and we look forward to continuing to work with you and your team to move even further,” he added.
The U.S. Department of Defense said that Austin will announce $500 million in foreign military financing for the Philippines to help bolster the defenses of America’s oldest treaty ally in Asia.
The “two plus two” meetings are expected to cover a range of topics including security, economic cooperation, and the geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific region, with the aim of further solidifying the strategic partnership between the Philippines and the United States.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Blinken, Austin arrive at Camp Aguinaldo for 2+2 meeting with Manalo, Teodoro.”
