U.S President, Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks on Monday, May 1, 2023.
Marcos’ visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines completed their largest war drills ever last week. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.
Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.
Before departing for Washington on Sunday, April 30, 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asserted that he was “determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests.”
Monday’s Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea’s nuclear program.
Marcos’ official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine President in more than 10 years.
According to two senior Biden administration officials, the two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos’ four-day visit to Washington.
The officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the White House will use the visit to announce the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines, a new U.S. trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines’ innovation economy, new educational programing and more.
Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.
Last week, the U.S President hosted South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is also scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.
Marcos Desires To Work Closely With Both Washington And Beijing
One official divulged that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he “finds himself in a situation” in which “the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.”
Close U.S-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.
Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that “historical considerations” could present “challenges” to the relationship with Marcos Jr.
It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.
A U.S appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos’ estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.
Biden and Marcos met in September, 2022 during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S President acknowledged the two countries’ sometimes “rocky” past.
During their private meeting, Biden stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could “fulfill your dreams and hopes” to do that, according to the senior administration official.
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