President Marcos leaves for 5-day US visit

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos flew to the United States yesterday for a five-day official working visit to be highlighted by a meeting with his counterpart, Joe Biden, at a time when both countries seek to strengthen their ties in light of China’s continuing acts of aggression in the South China Sea.

In his speech at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Marcos said his visit to the US, his second as president, is important in bringing the two countries’ “already strong bonds” into the 21st  century.

Marcos, accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, will be in the US from April 30 to May 4. The President’s delegation to Washington also includes members of his economic team as well as Filipino business leaders.

“My visit to the United States, and more especially my meeting with President Joe Biden, is essential to advancing our national interests and strengthening that very important alliance,” Marcos said.

“During this visit, we will reaffirm our commitment to fostering our long-standing alliance as an instrument of peace and as a catalyst of

development in the Asia-Pacific region and for that matter the rest of the world,” he added.

Marcos and Biden are set to meet at the White House on May 1 (US time). They are also expected to tackle the two nations’ defense and security ties, including the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). This is the second face_to-face meeting between the two lead_ers after meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City last September. US bares intentionsTolentino:

Update, expand MDT

For Sen. Francis Tolentino the MDT needs to be strengthened and updated to cover a wider range of possible attacks by aggressors, including cyberattacks and environmental destruction.

The 72-year-old MDT was originally signed in 1951, and the senator believes that the nature of national security has changed since then.

Tolentino, vice chairman of both the Senate committees on national defense and security and of foreign relations, proposed some amendments on the triggers in the MDT that would activate the pact, citing Marcos’ pronouncements that the country’s security posture must “evolve” given the changing and tense situation in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

“An armed attack in the MDT is deemed to include, among others, an attack on the metropolitan territory… and in areas where we exercise our sovereign rights,” Tolentino, speaking partly in Filipino, said in an interview with dzBB radio as he noted that the treaty is relatively sparse with only eight articles and no terms of reference.

When asked whether this should cover the WPS, which is within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he replied: “Anywhere where we have sovereign rights.”

Tolentino believes Marcos should raise this in his meeting with Biden so that the MDT could be updated to cover other possible attacks on the Philippines and its territories and natural resources, including the EEZ.

“So when there is an attack in the EEZ, it falls right inside the MDT,” he added.

Tolentino also called for provisions on environmental protection and countering climate change to be included in the MDT, as fishing grounds and other ecosystems are being destroyed or left unprotected in aggressive acts by claimants in the South China Sea.

He said there is a need to clarify the term “armed attack” in the MDT that should expand beyond aggression against government vessels but also regard cyberattacks as warfare; because a state-sponsored cyberattack could lead to the collapse of a country’s banking system or basic services and peace and order.

“But the counterattack (under the MDT) from the cyberattack must be commensurate,” said Tolentino. “Nowadays it is not only firing cannons but it can cause nationwide blackouts and crippling of telcos.”

In pushing for the renegotiation of the MDT, which is the “mother treaty” of the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), the senator proposed greater compensation for local government units in jurisdictions where American troops are deployed in rotation, not only financially for expenses or damages incurred, but also infrastructure like schools and hospitals.

US bares intentions

Ahead of Marcos’ visit, Washington reiterated it would not ask the Philippines to choose between the US and another country, but it would put on the table “what a deep partnership with the United States of America can look like.”

“We do not ask any country to choose between the US and another country,” US Department of State principal deputy spokesperson Verdant Patel said in a press briefing on Saturday (yesterday in Manila).

Citing the vital importance of the Indo-Pacific, Patel said: “We are of course going to take steps to deepen our ties and deepen bilateral relationships with countries in the region.

This was highlighted in the early part of April when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin engaged in a 2+2 dialogue with their Philippine counterparts Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr.

In that meeting, the US pledged to allocate more than $100 million (P5.57 billion) in investments at the new and existing EDCA sites in the Philippines by the end of fiscal year 2023.

Tolentino: Update, expand MDT

For Sen. Francis Tolentino, the MDT needs to be strengthened and updated to cover a wider range of possible at[1]tacks by aggressors, including cyberat[1]tacks and environmental destruction. The 72-year-old MDT was origi[1]nally signed in 1951, and the senator believes that the nature of national security has changed since then.

Tolentino, vice chairman of both the Senate committees on national defense and security and of foreign relations, proposed some amendments on the triggers in the MDT that would activate Marcos From Page 1 the pact, citing Marcos’ pronouncements that the country’s security posture must “evolve” given the changing and tense situation in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

“An armed attack in the MDT is deemed to include, among others, an attack on the metropolitan territory… and in areas where we exercise our sovereign rights,” Tolentino, speaking partly in Filipino, said in an interview with dzBB radio as he noted that the treaty is relatively sparse with only eight articles and no terms of reference.

When asked whether this should cov[1]er the WPS, which is within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he replied: “Anywhere where we have sovereign rights.” Tolentino believes Marcos should raise this in his meeting with Biden so that the MDT could be updated to cover other possible attacks on the Philippines and its territories and natural resources, including the EEZ.

Tolentino also called for provisions on environmental protection and coun[1]tering climate change to be included in the MDT, as fi shing grounds and other ecosystems are being destroyed or left unprotected in aggressive acts by claim[1]ants in the South China Sea

Marcos’ other agenda

Before leaving Manila, Marcos mentioned that he would also seek closer cooperation with the US in the areas of food security, agricultural productivity development, digital economy, energy security, climate change and cybersecurity, as well as economic resilience, among others.

“I intend to convey to President Biden and his senior Cabinet officials that the President (of the Philippines) is determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests,” he said.

He said Manila would also push for greater economic engagement with the US, particularly through trade and investment, and science, technology, and innovation cooperation.

To further this interest, Marcos has a scheduled meeting with leaders from the semiconductor industry, critical minerals, renewable and clean energy, including nuclear, and infrastructure projects to help improve the Philippines’ digital telecommunication systems and facilitate sustainability efforts to address climate change. — Paolo Romero, Pia Lee-Brago, Delon Porcalla