Marcos, Kamala Harris talk South China Sea in Jakarta

JAKARTA—President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday met for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit here.

According to the White House, the meeting would build on US President Joe Biden and Harris’ bilateral meetings with Marcos in Washington in May 2023 and the Vice President’s visit to the Philippines in November 2022.

"The two leaders discussed the maritime security environment in the South China Sea, and reviewed opportunities to enhance bilateral maritime cooperation, including alongside likeminded partners," the readout said.

Marcos and Harris welcomed the identification of four additional sites in the Philippines which US forces may access under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

"President Marcos and the Vice President also discussed opportunities to bolster bilateral economic cooperation and enhance economic resilience," the statement said.

On Twitter, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez shared photos of Marcos and Harris conversing.

Also in the pictures were Romualdez and the President's son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, the senior deputy majority leader in the House of Representatives.

Marcos and Harris were at the ASEAN-US Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington DC Jose Manuel “Babes” Romualdez on Tuesday said that the US and Japan were seeking a trilateral meeting with Marcos on the sidelines of the summit.

Marcos and Harris are set to leave Indonesia on Thursday. 

Marcos at the ASEAN-US Summit  said the US was an "indispensable partner" of the ASEAN. He hoped that deeper ties with the superpower would help the Southeast Asian bloc’s pursuit of lasting peace.

"The US has always been an ally and an indispensable partner of ASEAN," Marcos said during his intervention at the 11th ASEAN-US Summit.

"As we forge closer and deeper relationships in the coming years, we hope to continue working together towards a region that enjoys lasting peace, security, stability, and resilience," he added.

For Marcos, the US was "more than just a longstanding, close, and reliable friend and ally of the Philippines." 

He said the US was ''undeniably ASEAN’s partner in achieving our collective goals and aspirations as nations, both on the domestic and international fronts."

Marcos welcomed US support for ASEAN centrality and the principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). He said this envisioned a free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.

Marcos also commended the US leadership for their efforts to craft the joint statement with Japan and South Korea, dubbed ''The Spirit of Camp David.''

"The Statement cemented a common security agenda among the United States, Japan, and South Korea on arguably the most problematic issues in the region—issues that undermine regional peace and prosperity, including but not limited to supporting the free and open international order based on the rule of law," Marcos said.

The statement opposed  unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific and the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea.

Marcos said the statement also expressed concern for the continued illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing that affects our fisherfolk,

He also mentioned the trilateral maritime exercise conducted among the Coast Guards of the Philippines, Japan, and the United States, which he said was "aimed at strengthening humanitarian assistance and disaster relief cooperation."

He called on the ASEAN member-states to continue enhancing connectivity and supply chains with the US to further expand mutual trade, saying "the US economic might in the region has been a positive force."

Marcos said the US in 2022 remained the biggest source of foreign direct investment, with a market share of 22.5%.

"We look forward to more investment inflows as well as a higher turnover of goods and services through the implementation of the ASEAN-US Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement and the Expanded Economic Engagement Work," Marcos said.

Marcos' praises for the US came the same day he told China that the Philippines would continue to assert the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the rule of law in settling maritime disputes.

In a speech at the 43rd ASEAN Summit Retreat Session, Marcos called on ASEAN not to allow the international order to be challenged by any "hegemonic ambition" in the South China Sea (SCS).

Marcos made the appeal after he called out "misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the SCS solely [through] the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries."

Although Marcos did not identify the countries he was referring to, it is known that the United States has been one of the Philippines' staunchest and most vocal allies in its territorial dispute with China involving the part of the South China Sea that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea. —NB, GMA Integrated News