The Philippines and the United States have a strong alliance, but Senator Imee Marcos reaffirmed that the Philippines will continue to engage with China. This is part of a seven-point plan that she hopes to advance through the implementation of confidence-building measures, joint development, and the completion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
On September 26, Marcos went to a roundtable discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.
“Do not let us choose between the US and China,” said Sen. Marcos.
She claimed that in order to avoid a relapse into the “melodrama” of the Cold War, the Philippines and its neighbors in Southeast Asia are advocating for a “rational approach” in relations between Washington and Beijing.
The seven-point plan for Philippine-US foreign policy that Marcos devised includes reexamining rather than revising the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and how the language of both agreements is to be implemented; evaluating the delivery of development aid under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA); and increasing military support for local defense contractors.
The MDT requires the US and the Philippines to resolve any international disputes “by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security, and justice are not endangered and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,” according to the MDT.
Sen. Marcos assures PH will not choose between US, China
Source: Pinoy News Udpates PH
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