Philippines’ Marcos seeks reassurances from Trump over alliance

The Philippines’ top diplomat in Washington is optimistic of a

White House meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Donald Trump

in the spring as the former leader seeks assurances of their alliance in the face of threats from China.

“The priority, really, for the president’s trip here is mostly to reaffirm most of the commitments that have been made in the past eight years,” Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said during an interview via Zoom on Jan 31, emphasising that the two sides have a standing mutual defence treaty.  

“These are the things that are very important for us at this point in time obviously because of the challenges that we face right now,” he said.

Vital waterway

Manila is seeking Washington’s enduring support as it pushes back against what both see as

Beijing’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the disputed South China Sea

. While the treaty allies had expanded military cooperation under former president Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s return to the White House has stirred doubts in the region over America’s security commitments, particularly with regard to Taiwan.

A vital waterway for trillions of dollars of global trade, the South China Sea has become a major flashpoint for tensions in recent years as Chinese enforcement vessels ram into or fire water cannons at often much smaller Philippine ships. China, which claims nearly all of the disputed sea, has defended the actions, saying the ships were encroaching on its territorial sovereignty.

“It’s their interest that this area remains very clear,” Mr Romualdez said of the disputed waters, while expressing optimism the Trump administration will not scale back defence funding that includes a US$500 million (S$678 million) annual budget from the US Congress. 

The Philippines will continue to pursue the acquisition of “at least a couple” of mid-range Typhon missile systems from the US as soon as possible, he said, adding he was also unfazed by the prospect of being targeted by tariffs as his nation’s trade imbalance with the US isn’t as big as other countries.

Deportations

Where the Philippines could find itself in Mr Trump’s crosshairs is on the issue of immigration, with some 350,000 unauthorised Filipinos residing in the US. Mr Romualdez confirmed reports of two dozen deportations among them since Mr Trump’s inauguration, with about 60 more cases pending. 

He also downplayed the likelihood of mass deportations in the future, saying it is not a big problem and that there is a “good chance” many would be given a legal path to stay.

“I don’t think the Trump administration is concerned about the Filipinos in general,” he said. “Most Filipinos in the United States are very much appreciated.” BLOOMBERG