US official: PH can count on stronger ties, support while Biden is president

US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby answers questions from Filipino reporters in Washington, D.C., United States, on April 10, 2024, a day before the first-ever trilateral meeting between the Philippines, United States, and Japan. Gabriel P. Lalu/ INQUIRER.net

WASHINGTON, DC — The Filipino people and its government can count on the United States (US) for its continued support and stronger bilateral ties as long as President Joe Biden is in office, a senior American official said.

In a press briefing here on Wednesday (Eastern time), US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby gave this assurance after being asked if the US can sustain healthy relations with the Philippines regardless of the outcome of its upcoming presidential elections.

The US will have its polls this November 2024, and Biden is seeking reelection under the Democratic Party. He is believed to be going against former president Donald Trump, who is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.

READ: China claims PH has yet to remove BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal as promised 

READ: Pact on Ayungin rescinded, if there’s any – Marcos 

Work hard

“What I can assure you and the Filipino people, and of course President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) and his team is that as long as President Biden is commander-in-chief, as long as he is the President of the United States, we will continue to work hard for this relationship and do everything we can to improve it because it’s so important,” Kirby told reporters from the Philippine delegation.

“All by itself it’s so important and then when you throw it in, when you’re able to look at things like trilateral or quadrilateral cooperation, it becomes all the more relevant, particularly when we look at what’s going on at the South China Sea,” he added.

Kirby declined to give out comments related to politics as he is barred from doing so, being a part of the National Security Council, but the official maintained that Filipinos can count on Biden and his team’s full support.

“I, because I work in the National Security Council I am not allowed to talk about or will I talk about the election,” Kirby explained.

“All I can tell you again—as convincingly as I can—is that for as long as President Biden is president of the United States, the Philippine people can count on him and his team’s full support for improving our bilateral relationship and for meeting our commitments, our treaty commitments to the Philippines,” he added.

READ: China Coast Guard harassed PH ships anew, says PCG official

No changes?

However, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez believes not much would change should Trump win in November 2024, because some of the policies implemented by the Biden administration regarding the Indo-Pacific region started when Trump was in office from 2017 to 2021.

Romualdez, who spoke with reporters in a separate briefing at the Philippine Embassy, has been the Philippines’ ambassador to the US since 2017.

“You know one thing that I’ve (heard) in my discussions here in Washington DC, the United States has only one direction when it comes to their national interest. Well I’m just giving you a situation where I’m confident that any change of administration will not affect the foreign policy of the United States specifically in the Indo-Pacific region,” Romualdez said.

Since 2017

“Because if you remember, I’ve been here since 2017 during the time of President Trump. Many of the things that he spoke about at that time is actually being followed now by the current administration of President Biden. So if there’s any change, most of the people that are with President Trump would most likely will be also joining his administration if he wins,” he added.

The pursuit of stronger relations between the US and the Philippines will be part of discussions when Biden and Marcos meet for their bilateral talks, and during the first-ever trilateral discussions between the two countries plus Japan, headed by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Another topic that would be discussed, US and Philippine officials said, would be China’s aggressive actions over the West Philippine Sea, which has resulted into the harassment of Filipino vessels.

READ: PH vessel sustains ‘heavy damage’ in Chinese coast guard attack

Tensions over the WPS have been high recently, with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) complaining about the Chinese Coast Guard’s continuous harassment of local vessels assisting resupply missions to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal.

Last Sunday, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the Chinese Coast Guard harassed Philippine vessels in the PCG.  The incident, which happened last April 4, happened near the Rozul Reef—which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

As for Ayungin Shoal, China has constantly claimed that China owns the area even if it is within the Philippine EEZ.  China also said a former Philippine president promised to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin, but Marcos said he is not aware of such a deal.