AFP still sees US support in West Philippine Sea under Trump

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday expressed optimism that the United States will maintain its support in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) under US President-elect Donald Trump.

“Our long history of shared values, common interests, and respect for international law will transcend administrations both in the US and in our country,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trindidad told reporters.

“Our military relationship will remain strong. It is both in our interests that the Indo-Pacific will remain free and open to all,” he added.’

In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that the US is a long-time ally of the Philippines in terms of bilateral and multilateral treaties.

“Kahit naman po nagpalit ng mga presidente, because these are locked in stone, so to speak, itong mga treaties natin, tuloy-tuloy naman po ang ating activities with them,” Padilla said.

(Even with the election of a new president, because these treaties are locked in stone, so to speak, our activities with them continue.)

“And they honor naman po ang pinirmahan, nilagdaan po natin na mga treaties together (And they honor the treaties we signed together),” she added.

US Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez on Thursday said Trump acknowledged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s congratulatory message on his return to the White House.

“PBBM congratulated Pres Trump via SMS and was acknowledged with thanks,” Romualdez said.

Marcos in a statement on Wednesday congratulated Trump on his apparent victory.

"I am hopeful that this unshakeable alliance, tested in war and peace, will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific," Marcos said.

"This is a durable partnership the Philippines is fully committed to  because it is founded on the ideals we share: freedom and democracy," he added.

Trump, 78, recaptured the White House on Wednesday by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

He had won 279 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris' 223 with several states yet to be counted.

The US during the Biden administration expressed support to the Philippines in the WPS issue.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea— a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce— including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has not recognized the decision.—AOL, GMA Integrated News