The enhancement of an already robust defense cooperation was pledged by the Philippines and the United States, which includes an improved defense infrastructure, updated personnel, and logistics procedure, increased mutual communication and coordination on operational elements of regional security.
Philippine and American flags (Photo from US Embassy in the Philippines / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
The two sides committed to begin planning on a range of activities to improve maritime domain awareness during the recently-concluded 8th United States – Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue.
Both sides recognized the importance of a strong Philippines-US alliance in enhancing security cooperation and promoting regional stability and prosperity.
They recalled Secretary Pompeo’s statements on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) during his March 2019 visit to Manila, particularly the clarification that the South China Sea (SCS) is in the Pacific, and that any armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the SCS will trigger Article IV of the Mutual Defense Treaty.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to upholding freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the SCS, and stressed the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention.
Economic relationship
The Philippines and the US delegations reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the extensive economic relationship between the two countries and undertook substantive discussions on cooperating in areas such as science and technology, agriculture, fisheries, health, environment, energy, infrastructure, connectivity, and cybersecurity, among others.
The Philippines and the United States recognized the importance of the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which has enabled both countries to make concrete and significant progress on outstanding bilateral trade issues. They also look forward to further discussions under the TIFA mechanism, recalling statements of both countries’ leaders in support of increasing trade in a manner that observes the principles of free, fair, and reciprocal trade.
Rule of Law
The Philippine and US delegations emphasized the importance of the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The senior officials pledged to continue working together to effectively eliminate human trafficking and in this regard, noted the Tier 1 ranking maintained by the Philippines in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report. Both sides committed to collaborating more closely on enhancing legal aid services as well as on countering transnational crimes such as human and drug trafficking.
The senior officials pledged to deepen their work to counter-terrorism and violent extremism through improved information sharing, and port and aviation security, in order to prevent terrorist attacks within the Philippines, and the transit of foreign terrorist fighters into and within the Philippines. In addition, both delegations committed to upholding international best practices to detect and combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The United States acknowledged the importance of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and recognized ASEAN centrality as integral to its Indo-Pacific Strategy. Both sides committed to deepening their engagement with partners in the region based on inclusiveness, openness, rule of law, good governance, and respect for international law.
The Philippines expressed its appreciation to the United States for the return of the Bells of Balangiga in December 2018. Their journey home reaffirmed the mutual respect and deep friendship between the two countries and their peoples.
Both sides recognized the importance of a strong Philippines-US alliance in enhancing security cooperation and promoting regional stability and prosperity.
They recalled Secretary Pompeo’s statements on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) during his March 2019 visit to Manila, particularly the clarification that the South China Sea (SCS) is in the Pacific, and that any armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the SCS will trigger Article IV of the Mutual Defense Treaty.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to upholding freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the SCS, and stressed the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention.
Economic relationship
The Philippines and the US delegations reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the extensive economic relationship between the two countries and undertook substantive discussions on cooperating in areas such as science and technology, agriculture, fisheries, health, environment, energy, infrastructure, connectivity, and cybersecurity, among others.
The Philippines and the United States recognized the importance of the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which has enabled both countries to make concrete and significant progress on outstanding bilateral trade issues. They also look forward to further discussions under the TIFA mechanism, recalling statements of both countries’ leaders in support of increasing trade in a manner that observes the principles of free, fair, and reciprocal trade.
Rule of Law
The Philippine and US delegations emphasized the importance of the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The senior officials pledged to continue working together to effectively eliminate human trafficking and in this regard, noted the Tier 1 ranking maintained by the Philippines in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report. Both sides committed to collaborating more closely on enhancing legal aid services as well as on countering transnational crimes such as human and drug trafficking.
The senior officials pledged to deepen their work to counter-terrorism and violent extremism through improved information sharing, and port and aviation security, in order to prevent terrorist attacks within the Philippines, and the transit of foreign terrorist fighters into and within the Philippines. In addition, both delegations committed to upholding international best practices to detect and combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The United States acknowledged the importance of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and recognized ASEAN centrality as integral to its Indo-Pacific Strategy. Both sides committed to deepening their engagement with partners in the region based on inclusiveness, openness, rule of law, good governance, and respect for international law.
The Philippines expressed its appreciation to the United States for the return of the Bells of Balangiga in December 2018. Their journey home reaffirmed the mutual respect and deep friendship between the two countries and their peoples.
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