Blinken to meet Marcos on MDT

MANILA, Philippines — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Manila to meet with President Marcos and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo will underscore the “ironclad” commitment of the US to the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines.

This was according to Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink who said that Blinken’s visit and US senior-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific reflects how profoundly important the region is to US long-term security and prosperity.

“We welcome the statements that President Marcos recently made about the importance of preserving the Philippines’ territorial integrity,” Kritenbrink said at a recent teleconference.

Blinken, according to Kritenbrink, also intends to have important discussions on enhanced cooperation on trade and investment and on clean energy, advancing shared democratic values and strengthening respect for human rights, including press freedom.

Blinken is scheduled to visit the Philippines from Aug.5 to Aug.6. It will be his first visit to the country since assuming office in January 2021 and the first for a US Secretary of State since the March 2019 visit of then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The visit follows that of Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in June 2022.