Obama arrives in PH for APEC

US President Barack Obama arrives in the Philippines and being welcomed by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia and Secretary of Department of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin (Screenshot from YouTube)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – United States (US) President Barack Obama arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Balagbag Ramp Area on Tuesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this week.

Straight from the G-20 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Turkey, Obama was welcomed by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia and Secretary of Department of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin. The US president will also hold a Summit Dialogue at the Makati Shangri-La on Wednesday morning.

This is the second visit of Obama in the Philippines. The two-day visit of Obama was on April 28, 2014 as part of his four-nation Asia tour. The US and the Philippines discussed the signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 10-year pact allowing the US military to set up camps inside the major military bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and store weapons. The agreement currently challenges the Supreme Court.

According to reports last week, South China Sea dispute and EDCA are not part of APEC agenda, but it was disclosed that Obama and Aquino will tackle EDCA in a bilateral meeting on Wednesday.

Apart from the bilateral meeting, the White House said that Obama will also visit a “coastal facility” as a show of US maritime cooperation with the Philippines.

This will be also Obama’s first time to encounter with new prime ministers of Canada and Australia, Justin Trudeau and Malcom Tumbull.