Free Trial

Marcos-Biden Summit Eyed As Blinken Reaffirms Alliance With Manila

PHILIPPINES

The Philippine and U.S. administrations are working on a potential summit between Presidents Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos and Joe Biden when the former travels to the U.S., CNN reports citing the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

  • During his ongoing trip to Manila, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the Philippines an "irreplaceable" ally and reaffirmed U.S. "ironclad" commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. He vowed that Washington stands ready to come to the Philippines' defence if it ever comes under foreign attack.
  • The Philippines plays a pivotal role in U.S. strategic maritime containment doctrine seeking to reduce China's power projection capabilities. The Philippines form part of the so called first chain of islands that stretches from Borneo to the northern tip of the Japanese archipelago.
  • Manila's ties with Washington soured during the tenure of Marcos' predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to cancel a key security pact (Visiting Forces Agreement) and pursue a more independent foreign policy. At the end of the day, however, Duterte made an about-face, keeping the agreement in place.
  • Despite the Philippines' strategic importance for U.S. military strategy for the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. only sent its Second Gentleman to Marcos' inauguration, while House Speaker Pelosi skipped Manila during her recent East Asia trip. By contrast, China was represented by its Vice President Wang when Marcos was taking office.

To read the full story

Close

Why MNI

MNI is the leading provider

of intelligence and analysis on the Global Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange and Energy markets. We use an innovative combination of real-time analysis, deep fundamental research and journalism to provide unique and actionable insights for traders and investors. Our "All signal, no noise" approach drives an intelligence service that is succinct and timely, which is highly regarded by our time constrained client base.

Our Head Office is in London with offices in Chicago, Washington and Beijing, as well as an on the ground presence in other major financial centres across the world.