US-Philippine ties set to deepen as Manila becomes ‘critical’ part of Washington’s Asia strategy
- A US-Philippine meeting of defence chiefs in Washington this week indicates that bilateral ties between the allies now at ‘critical juncture’
- While US ‘needs the Philippines’, the Southeast Asian nation has to position itself carefully in case US-China tensions escalate, say analysts
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on Tuesday hosted Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez in Washington.
In an indication of Beijing’s weariness over these developments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that the exercise known as Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder in Tagalog) “should not target any third party and should be conducive to regional peace and security”.
Following the Tuesday meeting, Austin said both sides discussed the delivery of “priority defence platforms” to the Philippines, while Manalo said the leaders “redoubled” their commitment to modernising a mutual defence treaty signed in 1951.
A fact sheet released after the meeting indicated that the two countries would be holding “focused discussions on an acquisition plan for a fleet of multi-role fighter aircraft for the Philippine Air Force”. Observers have said that the air force, which utilises Korean-made FA-50 light fighters as its primary fighter jets, is eyeing the acquisition of US F16s.
Philippine diplomatic observer Aries Arugay said the messaging from the so-called “2+2” talks this week indicated that bilateral ties between the allies were now at a “critical juncture”.