PH envoy: Defense is each country’s call
Amid concerns triggered by a contentious meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that put Kyiv’s future uncertain in the absence of fresh security assurances from Washington, the Philippines should be ready to beef up its own defenses, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Monday.
The high-profile meeting at the Oval Office that unfolded in front of the media turned into a tense exchange as the two leaders clashed over the future of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy left the meeting without signing a mineral deal in exchange for additional US military support to help Ukraine.
“We have to all be ready for that type of situation. It may be some other president in the future, but at the end of the day, each country now has to be ready to be able to beef up its own defense, beef up its own economic security. And that’s always been what we have been doing … that we would like to put up our own resources to be able to modernize our armed forces and to be able to bring our economy to where we want it to be,” Romualdez told foreign correspondents in a forum in Manila.
Defense agreements
He remained optimistic, however, that Washington’s support for Manila would continue and there were no indications that what happened to Ukraine could happen to the Philippines.
“I think all of that will remain. I am confident that it will,” Romualdez said when asked whether defense agreements and military aid would continue under the Trump administration.
He confirmed a Reuters report that Washington exempted $336-million worth of military assistance to Manila from its foreign aid freeze and said he was hopeful that “succeeding monies will be made available to us in the next couple of years.”
Both US State Secretary Marco Rubio and defense chief Pete Hegseth have reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to the Philippines during their respective engagements with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. last month.
The Philippines has also carried out a number of joint patrols with the United States since January under the new Trump administration in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea that China claims almost entirely.
Manila has a Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington in effect since 1951 that calls for each side to come to the other’s defense in case of an armed attack.
The Philippines is also the biggest country recipient of US military assistance in the region.
Marcos-Trump meeting
“The Philippines faces an existential threat in the South China Sea, and our desire to develop our defense capabilities to address this threat aligns closely with US interests to maintain peace and stability in this part of the world,” he said.
Plans are already underway for a possible meeting between President Marcos and his American counterpart likely in the spring, Romualdez said.
“I believe that an in-person meeting with President Marcos would be crucial in further bolstering the US’ continued support for the Philippine-US relations and continued presence in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
“It’s really a matter of timing. But President Marcos has clearly said that when President Trump is available, he would definitely like to fly to Washington and meet with him,” Romualdez said.
Mr. Marcos, who took office in 2022, moved the Philippines closer to the United States since replacing Rodrigo Duterte, who pivoted the country’s foreign policy away from Washington and toward Beijing.
Alliances
On Monday, the Philippine Army launched a large-scale exercise to test and improve its ability to quickly deploy in response to a potential conflict.
The Combined Arms Training Exercise (Catex), set from March 3 to 22, will highlight the Army’s efforts to shift to external security operations.
The exercises will simulate the defense of northern and Central Luzon from an invasion and test newly delivered light tanks and artillery, such as Sabrah light tanks and Pandur 8×8 wheeled armored vehicles.
Around 6,000 Army troops will take part in the Catex.
During the weekend, top Army officials from the Philippines, United States, Japan and Australia also gathered in Manila to discuss collective approaches to deter shared threats amid rising tensions with China.
The meeting of the “CORE 4 Technical Working Group” on March 1 and 2 focused on “enhancing interoperability and aligning military exercises among regional partners and allies,” that aimed to reinforce “collective defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region,” Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said.
