Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr might discuss tensions over Taiwan with US President Joe Biden at the White House next week, but the focus of talks would be on trade and investment, a top diplomat said yesterday.
Marcos would prioritize economic discussions on energy, climate and trade during his first official visit to Washington on Monday, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
“China, of course, is our No. 1 trading partner,” said Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos who also held the post in the previous administration.
Photo: Reuters
“Japan is also a trading partner, and so the United States is one of those countries that we would like to be able to have more trade,” he said.
The talks would be the latest in a series of high-level meetings the Philippines has held with leaders of the US and China.
Marcos met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing in January and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) last week.
He might or might not discuss Taiwan with Biden, but is focused on avoiding conflict, Romualdez said.
“On a clear day, from the northernmost part of the country, you can see Taiwan,” he said. “So that’s how close it is.”
“Obviously it will affect us... If anything happens in Taiwan, everybody will be affected, most especially in the ASEAN region, but the whole world,” Romualdez said.
He said that the Philippines did not want China to “feel that we are out on an offensive because of our relationship with the United States... Everything that we’re doing is purely for the defense of our country.”
China has accused the Philippines of stoking tensions by almost doubling the number of its bases that the US military can access under their defense agreement. Some of those bases face north toward Taiwan.
The treaty allies have had warmer ties since Marcos took office in June last year, reversing his predecessor’s anti-US stance. More than 17,000 Philippine and US soldiers are conducting their largest-ever joint military drills.
Marcos on Monday said that he would press Biden to make clear the extent of Washington’s commitment to protect the Philippines under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, citing the “heating up” of regional tensions.
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