No. 2 US diplomat to meet with Marcos during Philippine visit

ABS-CBN News MANILA — Washington's No. 2 diplomat will visit the Philippines this month to discuss relations with President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the US Department of State said. In a statement Friday, the department said that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will be coming to the country between June 5 and 14. During her visit to Manila, she will meet with Marcos Jr., his aides, and senior officials of the outgoing Duterte administration "to discuss ways to deepen the bilateral US-Philippines Alliance." "She will also participate in a business roundtable and an event in celebration of World Oceans Day," the statement read. The Philippines is one of Sherman's stops in her June Asia visit. She is also scheduled to visit South Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. Sherman will meet top officials of the said countries, including Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo, Laos Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. "The Deputy Secretary's travel to the region reflects the United States' continued commitment to the Indo-Pacific and follows last month's US-ASEAN Special Summit, President Biden's visit to [South Korea] and Japan, the Quad Leaders' Summit in Tokyo, and the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework," the department added. US Embassy Manila's Chargé d'affaires Heather Variava had also paid a courtesy call with Marcos Jr. Among the topics they discussed was the need to "redefine" the terms under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and the Philippines.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more