China in agenda as Blinken meets Marcos

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is slated to meet with United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken today (Tuesday) in Malacañang, where they are expected to tackle, among other things, the escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The high-ranking US official’s visit to Manila is his second, the first being in August 2022, roughly two months after Marcos assumed the presidency and one week after US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo led the first US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines.

Blinken’s brief stay comes after his participation in the Summit of Democracy held in Seoul, South Korea.

Marcos, in an interview during his state visit to the Czech Republic last week, said his sit-down with Blinken “is concerned with the maintenance of peace in the South China Sea.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken’s trip “will reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the Philippines.”

In the past several weeks, the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia have, on several occasions, harassed Filipino vessels within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ), particularly in the Ayungin Shoal.

This prompted the President to take a more assertive stance on China, especially regarding Beijing’s expansive claims over the contested sea.

“It is an issue that is not only important for those surrounding the region, the Indo-Pacific region, for Asean, and for the member states of Asean that surround the South China Sea. But also, because this is a safe navigation, and passage of the South China Sea is important to international trade, as close to 60 percent of international trade goes to that channel and we hope to continue these discussions,” Marcos earlier said.

“And 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 when it comes to these international differences we are having to deal with right now,” he added.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., meanwhile, said that Blinken’s visit will center on further strengthening economic ties between the treaty allies.

“Among the range of key issues to be tackled, the broadening and deepening of cooperation in the economic sphere will be high on the agenda. Discussions will highlight efforts to promote trade and investments and a common resolve to sustain economic resiliency as an essential component of national security,” it said.