President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his US counterpart, President Joseph Biden, will meet on Friday (Thursday in New York) to discuss various matters, most importantly the hotly contested South China Sea.
The White House made the confirmation as it said it would be Biden’s “first opportunity to meet with President Marcos.”
“The President will be eager to talk to him about a range of issues, including obviously the state of the global economy and how it’s impacting the Philippines and how the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework can help us collectively improve the rules of the road in the Indo-Pacific,” the White House said.
Most importantly, the two heads of state will also talk about the South China Sea, which is being claimed as part of another superpower, China.
“They’ll talk about the security relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines and the full breadth of issues in the alliance,” the White House added.
The meeting between the two leaders, which will happen on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, will be “a good opportunity,” according to the White House.
This was because Marcos Jr., who was on his New York visit as the President, has never had the opportunity to sit down with Biden before.
“So we’re really looking forward to that discussion,” the White House said.