Marcos meets with Blinken, Austin; hails PH-US alliance in WPS

PRESIDENTIAL WELCOME. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center) welcomes United States (US) Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (right) and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III (left) during a courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday (July 30, 2024). Blinken and Austin are in Manila for the 2+2 US-Philippines Ministerial Dialogue, where they will be joined by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. (PCO Photo)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. hailed the flourishing alliance of the Philippines and the United States (US) in ensuring stability in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos made the pronouncement on Tuesday morning as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III at Malacañang, ahead of the two countries’ Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue (2+2).

“I am 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 in the Indo Pacific are continuously examined and reexamined so we are agile in terms of our responses,” Marcos said.

“But we are very happy to see you once again,” he said. “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.”

US condoles with typhoon victims

Blinken and Austin thanked Marcos for the warm reception and extended their condolences to the victims of Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon that recently battered the capital region and other nearby areas.

Blinken reiterated Washington DC’s readiness to render the necessary assistance to Manila.

He said the upcoming 2+2 meeting is “genuinely historic” and evidence of the “steady drumbeat of very high level engagements” between the Philippines and the US that covers a full range of issues and opportunities.

‘PH, US are family’

Meanwhile, Austin said the Philippines and the US are a family.

“It always feels that way when I’m working with our colleagues. You know, we have common interests, common values, and so I think we’ve done a lot over 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 said.

“Thanks for your leadership, Mr. President, again, it’s been, it’s been a great three and a half years, and I look forward to another three and a half or another four (years) in building, building, strengthening this relationship,” the US official said.

Blinken and Austin are set to meet with their Filipino counterparts, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

The visit came after Chinese ships have rammed and sprayed Filipino vessels and crew members with water cannons over repeated clashes in Ayungin Shoal in the WPS, where the Philippines has sought to resupply its outpost in the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.

The tensions reached a high point over a month ago when Chinese sailors raided a Filipino boat with machetes and seized weapons and equipment, where one Filipino navyman lost his thumb in the confrontation.

The Philippines has been expanding engagements with its allies, including the US, while also beefing up the capabilities of its armed forces amid China’s aggression in the WPS.