The United States should maintain its support to the Philippines, particularly in light of China's continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
US Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized this during her phone call with President Marcos on Tuesday evening, Jan. 14.
"Indeed, and I will tell you from my first visit to Manila and our first conversation, it is extremely important to me and to the United States that we reaffirm the commitment to the defense of the Philippines including the South China Sea," Harris told Marcos.
Harris reflected on her historic visit to the Philippines, especially her trip to Palawan in November 2022, which she said underscored "the vulnerability in the region."
She noted the visit strengthened President Biden's resolve to support the Philippines in terms of both security and prosperity.
"I know there is bipartisan support within the United States Congress and within the US for the strength of this relationship and the enduring nature of it in terms of security, but again prosperity and to your point of people-to-people ties," Harris told Marcos.
Marcos underscored that since signing the trilateral agreement in Washington, there has been a significant change in the dynamic of the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific.
"Madame Vice President, before I came to this call I was going through all of the things that we had discussed in the past couple of years. And it is remarkable how much work we have been able to do and how much it has progressed and developed the relationship between our two countries. Already very strong relationship but evolving and evolving for the modern challenges that we face, both for us and the South China Sea and for the United States around the world," Marcos said.
"As I told President Biden when I spoke to him, I said that, I remember ... just before we signed the trilateral agreement in Washington, that, I said to President Biden that this will change the dynamic of the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific. And it certainly has done that," he added.
Marcos expressed optimism in maintaining the strong and dynamic relationship between the Philippines and the United States, even beyond the leadership change in the US.
"As typical with the relationship between the Philippines and the US, it's on every level, in every facet: on the economic level, on the diplomatic level, and defense and security," Marcos said.
"And the progress that we have made is terribly encouraging and we just hope to build on that and continue to work on what we have begun and continue to stand for our shared values and the rule of international law," he added.
Marcos further said he hopes "to build on that and continue to work" on what the two nations have begun grounded on shared values and international law.
The call between Harris and Marcos came just a day after a trilateral phone conversation with US President Joseph Biden and Japan Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.
Harris emphasized the importance of the trilateral ties between the Philippines, the US, and Japan.
"As we discussed with (US) President Biden on Sunday, the trilateral cooperation with Japan is a very important way to deepen our economic cooperation and build secured supply chains as well as promote security across the region," she said.
"And I echo the President’s conversation with you about the work that you will do with the next administration in terms of reinforcing the importance of that trilateral cooperation and the critical nature of it to maintain security in the South China Sea," she added.
Biden and Harris have been engaging in calls with allies and partners ahead of the conclusion of their terms on Jan. 20.
Formal diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the United States were established on July 4, 1946.
The US is the Philippines' oldest and only treaty ally. Bilateral defense and security engagement remains the key pillar of Philippine-US bilateral relations and is carried out within the framework of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and other bilateral agreements.