Wednesday, March 20, 2024

PBBM: Meeting with Blinken ‘absolutely necessary’

From Panay News (Mar 21, 2024): PBBM: Meeting with Blinken ‘absolutely necessary’ (By Adrian Stewart Co)


President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Secretary Antony J. Blinken meet at Malacañan Palace. Among the issues discussed by Marcos and Blinken were efforts to strengthen PH-US alliance, increased cooperation on trade and investment, promoting regional peace and security, defense modernization, and economic cooperation.

MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said his recent meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was “absolutely necessary” to strengthen the bilateral ties between the Philippines and the United States.

According to the Chief Executive, it is encouraging for the Philippines to be among the countries Blinken has visited despite all the extremely important issues that the United States has to deal with.

Among the issues discussed by Marcos and Blinken are efforts to strengthen PH-US alliance, increased cooperation on trade and investment, promoting regional peace and security, defense modernization, and economic cooperation.

“We are all familiar with the situations that you are having to deal with the world, and it is extremely encouraging for the Philippines that, despite all of these extremely important issues that you have to attend to, that you consider the Philippines important enough to take time from all global – globally important issues to come with us in the Philippines,” Marcos told Blinken.

“As with many meetings that we have with yourself, of these officials, our meetings always cover a great deal, great regard, wide scope and, as again, this happened in a quick chat that we just have and this is absolutely necessary. It is important that we continue to do that,” he added.

The visit of the US official is timely with the continued tension between the Philippines and China in its long-running maritime dispute over the South China Sea, including portions of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In 2016, the Philippines was awarded the arbitral ruling that denied the nine-dash line, the basis of China’s historical claims over the islands and waters in the entire South China Sea, including EEZs of neighboring Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

China, however, rejected the ruling and maintained an aggressive stance in the region, even firing water cannons at Philippine vessels taking humanitarian supplies to a military outpost at the Ayungin Shoal.

https://www.panaynews.net/pbbm-meeting-with-blinken-absolutely-necessary/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.