Marcos Discusses Philippine-US Ties, Imelda in Call With Trump

Manolo Serapio Jr.
·1-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he expressed his desire to strengthen his nation’s alliance with the US during a phone call Tuesday with President-elect Donald Trump.

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It’s “a relationship that is as deep as can possibly be because it has been for a very long time,” Marcos told reporters. The Philippine leader said it was a “very friendly call, very productive,” and that he plans to meet with Trump as soon as he can.

The call comes a day after the two allies signed an agreement that allows them to share classified defense information, amid growing assertiveness from Beijing over the South China Sea and Taiwan. The deal was signed by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to Manila this week and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro.

The latest pact shows how Manila and Washington are moving to solidify ties that were strengthened under President Joe Biden and Marcos as Trump’s return to the White House in January could shake up geopolitical dynamics around the world.

The US last year won access to four more Philippine sites under its 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Manila, which initially covered five Philippine military bases. The new sites are located near Taiwan and the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila are embroiled in an increasingly tense territorial dispute.

During their phone call, Marcos said Trump asked about his mother, the former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who he said Trump knows so well. “He said, ‘How is Imelda?,’ and I said she’s congratulating you.”

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