Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda (Rep. Salceda's office)

While Philippine-United States (US) relations under Amercan President Donald Trump's second term arguably began on the right foot, Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda still felt the need to dissect this long-standing ties between the two nations as it relates to China.

"Among all Asian countries, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Philippine government first. So, US-Philippine ties remain strong and strategic. The US would be unwise not to see our supreme strategic importance in their Asia policy and interests," Salceda said in a statement over the weekend.

Just before Trump's designation of Rubio, the latter gave rather stern words against China’s "bullying" in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). These supposed acts from the regional giant affect not only the Philippines but other smaller nations such as Taiwan.

As the newly-minted secretary of state, Rubio went on to reassure the Philippines that the US' "ironclad" commitment to its 74-year Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) ally remains the same.

With this, it became a surprise to some observers when the next big news to come from Washington was the Trump administration's decisions to temporarily halt delivery of foreign aid--a move that is expected to affect the Philippines.

Salceda, an economist, placed things into perspective.

"Our most important foreign relationships are, in this order, our relationship with Japan, our Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community, and our strategic multilateralism," he said.

"If the US neglects its relationship with the Philippines, we will have no choice but to balance that out with China," noted Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Just be fair

He went further into the unique dynamics of the three nations based on their shared history.

"I am not sentimentally attached to China. I even led a boycott of its goods in 2011. But when the Chinese economy is good, the Philippine economy is also good. And when the Chinese economy is in bad shape, the Philippine economy is also in bad shape," Salceda said.

"We have sentimental ties with the US. We want them to succeed as they look after America first. We have territorial issues with China, but between the US and China, only the US actually invaded our main islands," the Bicolano explained.

"So, we are not blind to the fact that they will look after their interest first. We just want them to be fair, and I think they will be. Because the farther the US goes from us, the closer they force us to their adversaries," he pointed out.