Meetings between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine officials are planned to center around economic cooperation between the two countries and finding ways to maintain peace in the disputed South China Sea, according to a recent State Department briefing.
Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Manila Tuesday for a two-day visit meant to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to the Philippines amid Manila’s increasing confrontation with China in the territorially disputed South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. Washington supports the position of the Philippines, its treaty ally.
Blinken will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo on Tuesday, in his second visit to the country since Marcos was elected in 2022.
Unlike his predecessor, Marcos sought a closer alliance with the U.S., ramping up bilateral cooperation.
“The broadening and deepening of cooperation in the economic sphere will be high on the agenda,” the Philippines foreign ministry said in a statement.
Blinken’s visit comes just a week after the first-ever U.S. presidential trade mission in Manila led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, where she announced plans by U.S. companies to invest more than $1 billion in the Philippines.
No major economic deals are to be signed during the Blinken visit, according to a U.S. government spokesperson.
For President Marcos, managing the tense conflict in the South China Sea will be a priority in the meeting.
“All of these discussions are really — as far as the Philippines is concerned — it is concerned with the maintenance of peace in the South China Sea,” Marcos said in a joint news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel last week.
The remarks came following the latest high-seas confrontation between Manila and Beijing near the contested Second Thomas Shoal.
On March 5, a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Chinese militia boat confronted a Philippine supply boat. In the skirmish that followed, the Philippine boat was hit by a Chinese water cannon, shattering its windshield and injuring four Filipino sailors.
While the two countries have been involved in cat-and-mouse games in the past, this was the first time personnel were injured in an incident.
This week’s meetings will be held “with an eye not to winning any kind of conflict but really just to maintain the peace and to continue to defend the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the Philippines,” Marcos said.
Trilateral meeting
A trilateral meeting between Blinken, Manalo and Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa was planned for this week but ultimately cancelled, according to Manila officials. Leaders of the three countries may meet next month as part of a standalone summit that observers believe is meant to build deterrence to counter China’s aggressive actions in the region.
Discussions and preparations for the meeting of U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Marcos in April are ongoing, according to a Philippine official, who asked not to be named.
Japan and the Philippines are currently negotiating a reciprocal agreement that would allow troops to be deployed to each other’s territory, while Manila and Washington have an existing visiting forces agreement.
