Array
Malacañang is confident that Washington’s commitments to Manila under President Joe Biden will continue under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told reporters on the sidelines of a defense forum in Taguig City on Wednesday night that the Philippines was ready to work with Trump, who is returning to the White House after winning over Vice President Kamala Harris in the US presidential elections.
“The Philippines and America have a shared history and we have this desire for peace in this region, so I think the commitments will be followed through,” Bersamin said, referring to the Biden administration’s support to the Philippines.
The Palace official added that there was no need to worry about Washington’s continued assistance in Manila’s position in the West Philippine Sea in the face of Beijing’s growing aggression in the strategic waterway.
“I don’t think we have to worry about that because there is continuity in international relations. We do not see any more problems. We do not see any problem,” he said.
Asked if the US support for the Philippines would remain ironclad under Trump, Bersamin said: “Well, the description of ironclad is in the way America reads the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), so we will leave it at that.”
“If they say it’s ironclad, we will be glad to agree with them,” he added.
Under the 1951 MDT, Manila and Washington are committed to come to each other’s defense following an armed attack on either country.
In 2023, Biden said Washington’s defense commitment to Manila is ironclad in the face of Chinese assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea.
In July this year, US Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced during their visit to Manila that the United States was providing $500 million (P29.
