Key security policy document between PH and US to be released Wednesday - diplomat

A crucial security policy document outlining the future of the Philippines-United States alliance will be released in Washington when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits the Pentagon for a meeting with American defense officials on Wednesday, a senior US embassy diplomat said.
 
Earlier announced in a White House factsheet following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Marcos on Monday, the Bilateral Defense Guidelines are seen as an upgrade to the Philippines and America’s security ties as they seek to “institutionalize key bilateral priorities, mechanisms, and processes to deepen alliance cooperation and interoperability across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.”
 
“One thing that would come out of this visit and is on track to be made public this Wednesday when President Marcos visits the Pentagon is the first ever Bilateral Defense Guidelines between the US and the Philippines,” said Brett Blackshaw, political counselor at the US Embassy, at a forum hosted by Stratbase-ADR Institute on Tuesday.

“It is a very useful milestone in the alliance, sort of articulating why we have this alliance now.”

Blackshaw said that the document, similar to what the US has with other allies, like Japan, “does not talk about third countries” but is “a useful way to lay out what are the contemporary challenges that we face, what are the mechanisms that we use to manage them, and shared priorities going forward.”
 
“That’s the core of our treaty; that’s the core of our alliance because the security challenges can evolve and change as they have,” Blackshaw said, adding the text of the document is being finalized.
 
A White House statement said the Guidelines “support the continued modernization of the alliance and ongoing efforts to adapt alliance coordination to respond to the evolving security environment.”
 
It seeks to “advance efforts to deepen interoperability, particularly through enhanced bilateral planning, information sharing, accelerated defense capability development, and collaboration on emerging security challenges.”
 
The adoption of the key document highlights the renewed and deepening cooperation between Manila and Washington, which was fractured during the time of Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who turned to America’s regional rival China in exchange for more economic aid and investments.
 
It also demonstrates the remarkable progress in the relations between the two longtime allies under Marcos as both countries share deep concerns about China’s growing power in the region, particularly in the South China Sea, which is being claimed by Beijing nearly in its entirety even as its smaller neighbors, like the Philippines, have insisted on lawful rights over parts of the resource-rich waters.
 
Blackshaw said the Guidelines articulate “why we have this alliance and looking ahead in the future, what are our priorities, and how do we envision meeting them,” as he stressed the importance of stronger US-Philippines cooperation.
 
“You are not just an important partner in Southeast Asia; you are an ally. That word in our foreign policy is sacrosanct,” Blackshaw said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News