President Marcos will be visiting the Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii during his working visit in the United States.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Charles Jose disclosed that Marcos was invited to visit the Indo-Pacific Command next week, and the President has already accepted the invitation, saying "it is already part" of his program during his American tour.
"The President is being invited to visit the Indo-Pacific Command," Jose said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
"His official delegation will form part of the President’s delegation when he visits Honolulu," Jose added, noting that they still do not have any information on who from the US side will be joining the President.
When asked about the significance of the President's visit to the Indo-Pacific Command amid the latest maritime incidents in the West Philippine Sea, where the Philippines strongly condemned the recent shadowing of a Chinese vessel over a Philippine Navy vessel, Jose said "it adds layer" to the country's advocacy for a rules-based orders in maritime areas.
"[I]t adds a layer to the cooperation that we are trying to establish with like-minded states in order to promote what we have been advocating all along – a rules-based order especially in the maritime areas," Jose said.
Aside from the Indo-Pacific Command visit, the President will also have a roundtable discussion with the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for security studies.
The DFA official, however, did not confirm whether or not the situation in the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea, will be brought up during the meeting.
In a statement on Nov. 2, the Philippines, through the DFA, said it is China, not the Philippines, that is intruding in Philippine waters, asserting that the Navy frigate BRP Conrado Yap was doing a legitimate operation in Bajo de Masinloc which is part of the country's territory.
READ MORE: China intruding in Bajo de Masinloc, PH waters— DFA