United States Vice President Kamala Harris will spend her first-ever Philippine visit with activities expected to formalize areas of cooperation both mulled by President Joe Biden and President Marcos and their officials.
These areas focused on climate action and energy security, military and defense alliance, food security, digital economy and human rights.
A senior White House official described Harris' visit as about strengthening the US and the Philippines' bilateral relationship, "in recognition of our long history as friends, allies and partners".
Harris, on her trip, will "build on a number of significant high level engagements," the official added. In a briefing on Sunday night shortly after Air Force 2, the US Vice President's official transport plane, landed in Manila, the White House official said it would be done by launching new initiatives on a range of issues.
Among those expected to be strengthened are efforts on climate action and energy security.
According to the administration official, Harris will set the ball rolling for at least six programs. These are: an energy policy dialogue between the US and the Philippines, an agreement for civil nuclear energy cooperation, the development of critical mineral supply chains, the construction of a geothermal power plant in Mindanao, the building of a project pipeline, and the development of smart and secure Indo-Pacific ports.
Harris will also discuss with Philippine officials the US plan to add more locations for the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a pact that allows US to rotate troops into the Philippines for extended stays, as well as build and operate facilities on Philippine bases, for both American and Philippine forces.
A food security dialogue and efforts to bolster organic agriculture in the country will be launched as well, the official said.
In the area of digital economy, he added, Harris will talk about expanding reliable 5G networks across the Philippines, launching satellite broadband services and providing digital opportunities, among others.
The Vice President will also reaffirm the US support for human rights by discussing their plans to support the three-year United Nations' joint program with the Philippines, elevating US-Philippine health partnership, providing health care for Filipino war veterans and fighting trafficking in persons.
The most anticipated part of her itinerary is her visit to Palawan, the province closest to the highly-disputed South China Sea.
There, she is expected to reaffirm the Western giant's commitment to uphold international rules-based order in the South China Sea and in the Indo-Pacific on the basis of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, which "rejected China's expansive maritime claims."
"She'll have more to say about this when she visits Palawan," the official said, adding Harris will not only talk about maritime security there but also about the impact of unregulated and illegal fishing on the environment and on the livelihood of the locals.
"You see that our administration has already engaged significantly and the Vice President is going to be building on that," the official said.