US, Philippines to 'modernize alliance', preserve international order
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The Philippine Foreign Secretary says relations with the US are "an instrument of peace" in the Indo-Pacific region.
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US Marine Corps Major General Eric Austin (R) and Philippine Army Major General Marvin Licudin during the opening ceremonies of a joint military exercise called “Balikatan" at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Quezon City, Philippines (AP)
The United States and the Phillippines pledged to modernize their alliance and consider their partner needs to be at the forefront of maintaining international law-based order, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Manalo and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Carlito Galvez Jr. met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and State Secretary Antony Blinken in Washington at the so-called 2+2 ministerial meeting.
Manalo and the Defense Secretary of the Philippines Carlito Galvez Jr. met during a visit to Washington on Tuesday with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and State Secretary Antony Blinken at the third 2+2 ministerial meeting.
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"At today's meeting we have redoubled our commitment to modernizing the Philippine-US alliance, recognizing that our partnership will need to play a stronger role in preserving an international law-based international order," Manalo told reporters after the meeting, noting that this includes intensified joint military exercises between the countries, among other things.
He also considered the partnership between the two countries to be of mutual economic benefit and "an instrument of peace" in the Indo-Pacific region.
The largest ever US-Philippine joint exercises that aim to challenge China's presence in the Asia-Pacific launched earlier this week, with over 17,000 soldiers from both countries taking part in them.
The joint exercises will be carried out in different regions of the Asian country and will include training on amphibious and aviation attacks, cybersecurity, and ground urban missions, among others.
Earlier this month, Manila announced that it will grant the US four more military bases on its soil, two of which will be close to Taiwan and one will be near the South China Sea, in an effort to offset alleged Chinese "increasing assertiveness toward Taiwan" and its construction of bases in the South China Sea, vowing yesterday not to allow "any offensive actions" from the bases it has made available to US forces.
The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA, provided the US forces access to five bases in the Philippines, which was now increased to nine. The agreement permits the rotation of US soldiers through the bases, as well as the storage of defense supplies and equipment there.
China warned last week that Washington was "endangering regional peace" in a new deal with the Philippines that will see four additional bases be used by US troops, including one near the South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan.
"Out of self-interest, the US maintains a zero-sum mentality and continues to strengthen its military deployment in the region," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said. "The result will inevitably be increased military tension and endangering regional peace and stability," she warned.
