(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo At a Joint Press Availability [1]
[]
Date: 2024-04
MODERATOR: Good afternoon. I wish to welcome the distinguished members of the Philippines and the U.S. delegation, as well as members of the DFA press corps and the foreign press accompanying the U.S. delegation, to this joint press conference by the Honorable Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and U.S. State Secretary Antony J. Blinken. We will first hear from Secretary Manalo, after which Secretary Blinken will deliver his remarks. After the two secretaries have spoken, we will have a Q&A.
Secretary Manalo, please.
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: Thank you. Honorable Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America; my friends in the media, both local and the U.S. traveling press corps; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all.
I had a excellent discussion with Secretary Blinken today. His visit comes at an important juncture in Philippine-U.S. relations. We’ve been on hyperdrive over the past year or so – engagements across issues, areas, and between and among government branches have never been better. The challenge now is how to sustain and further elevate our alliance and partnership.
Our discussion today focused on many issues. These include on defense and security engagement. We discussed ways to strengthen the alliance through better coordination at the policy and operational levels to ensure that it remains relevant and responsive to current, emerging, and crosscutting challenges in the defense, security, and economic spheres, while staying true to our commitment to safeguarding and promoting peace, security, and prosperity of the region, always anchored on the rule of law.
I also thanked Secretary Blinken for the government’s consistent support, especially with regard to recent incidents in the South China Sea in the past year. And in this regard, we discussed regional issues, especially the situation in the South China Sea, and I stated that the Philippines is committed to managing disputes in accordance with our national interests, a rules-based international order, and international law, especially UNCLOS.
We reaffirmed our shared view that a strong and capable Philippines would make a formidable ally for the United States. And on this note, I underscored the importance of more substantial U.S. investments towards enhancing our defense and civilian law enforcement capabilities.
We also discussed avenues for harnessing our partnership through collaboration with other likeminded partners, particularly in the framework of the budding Philippine-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation. In three weeks, President Marcos Jr. will be going to Washington for a trilateral leaders meeting. Our leaders intend to capitalize on the complementarities between existing Philippine-U.S. and Philippine-Japan bilateral cooperation, notably in infrastructure, critical minerals, energy, and maritime security.
On the economic front, we highlighted the robust engagement in the first three months of the year, highlighted or headlined by last week’s U.S. Presidential Trade and Investment Mission led by Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, together with 22 companies in the ICT, energy, infrastructure, and logistic financial services industry. That visit highlighted the growing collaboration with some of these companies and the potential for new partnerships, many in areas that would cultivate a future-ready workforce.
I welcomed the selection by the United States of the Philippines among partner countries under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, or PGI, and the ongoing work on a Clark-Subic-Batangas PGI corridor. This aligns with our call for a bigger American footprint in infrastructure projects in the Philippines. It will also support the ecosystem necessary to bolster connectivity in the country and our further integration into regional supply chains.
We have our work cut out for us, but I’m confident that we will deliver on our respective countries’ and leaders’ commitments to giving our people the better life and future they all deserve, marked by peace and stability in the region, a thriving and resilient economy, and an empowered community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Blinken for his visit and for visiting us here in the Philippines. Thank you.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Secretary Manalo. Secretary Blinken, you have the floor.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. Secretary Manalo, thank you very, very much for the strong, substantive exchange that we had today – oh, I’m sorry. How’s that? We’ll try it again.
Start again simply by thanking the foreign secretary for the very strong, substantive exchange that we had today, as we always do, both between ourselves and with our teams. I was last in the Philippines shortly after the election of President Marcos, and it is fair to say that since then we have achieved remarkable progress in our relationship. The meeting between President Biden and President Marcos in the White House last May set us on an ambitious course, and I think Ricky said it very well: We’ve been in hyperdrive, and that’s demonstrated by the results we’ve already achieved but also by our commitment to doing more, doing more together in the interests of both of our countries. The alliance has never been stronger, but we not only have to sustain that, we have to continue to accelerate the momentum.
Philippines is our oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific – more than 70 years working together to promote peace and security in the region. The EDCA expansion is strengthening that further, creating new locations for access to work together on humanitarian assistance, on disaster relief – including, for example, relief after the recent typhoons – and as well as creating greater interoperability, modernizing our military, with real and important benefits for local communities.
We have a shared concern about the PRC’s actions that threaten our common vision for a free, open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea and in the Philippines exclusive economic zone. Repeated violations of international law and the rights of the Philippines – water cannons, blocking maneuvers, close shadowing, other dangerous operations – these waterways are critical to the Philippines, to its security, to its economy, but they’re also critical to the interests of the region, the United States, and the world.
It’s why we stand with the Philippines and stand by our ironclad defense commitments, including under the Mutual Defense Treaty. Article IV extends to armed attacks on the Filipino armed forces, public vessels, aircraft – including those of its coast guard – anywhere in the South China Sea. Most important is we stand together in our determination to uphold international law – for the Philippines, for everyone else – against any provocative actions.
As the foreign secretary mentioned, we’re also deepening our cooperation with partners who share this commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The trilateral with Japan is a very important platform for building even greater stability and deepening peace. Just over the past year, our governments have increased cooperation on a whole host of shared priorities – not only security but economic cooperation, humanitarian assistance, critical infrastructure. We’ve had trilateral meetings over the past year, to include meetings between myself, Ricky, and our Japanese counterpart; the Vice President, President Marcos, and Prime Minister Kishida; National Security Advisor Sullivan and his counterparts; and this week in Tokyo, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will be meeting with his counterparts, all of this leading to the meeting – the summit meeting – between President Biden, President Marcos, Prime Minister Kishida at the White House on April 11th, the first trilateral leaders summit with the United States, the Philippines, and Japan.
We’re constantly expanding this partnership to meet bigger challenges, to seize bigger opportunities, including semiconductors, and you heard the foreign secretary reference that. I had a chance today to visit the Amkor facility, which is quite remarkable, but if you look at what the Philippines is doing in this area, it’s already extraordinary. The Philippines has about 20 percent of the global market for assembly, for testing, for packaging, and, of course, it’s a big part of the Philippines economy, representing about 12 percent of its GDP. But we want to support Filipino manufacturing, decrease dependencies, strengthen global supply chains.
In November we launched a partnership under the CHIPS and Science Act to explore opportunities to grow and to diversify semiconductor supply chains. During the mission that Secretary Raimondo recently conducted very successfully, this presidential trade mission last week, we announced plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the Filipino tech sector and to double the number of semiconductor factories here in the Philippines. And we’re exploring, as you heard, opportunities through the growth and investment – global investment and infrastructure program, transformative investments in infrastructure that could have a major benefit for the semiconductor industry by addressing barriers to investment, including some of the logistics and energy costs. We’re assessing additional priority areas for investment: clean energy, transportation, logistics, warehousing – to increase food security, for example.
And it’s a partnership, I’ll just say in conclusion, that is growing day by day in a variety of other areas as well, from cyberspace to artificial intelligence to clean energy to critical minerals to outer space. We very much appreciate the Philippines joining us in sponsoring a resolution at the United Nations on artificial intelligence, the first standalone resolution on AI, focused on deploying AI for the benefit of sustainable development. We now have more than 75 cosponsors.
So it’s a long way of saying we’ve already seen an extraordinary expansion in our partnership these last couple of years, but as the foreign secretary said, there is a lot more to do, and I’m very glad to be here to advance that effort. Thank you.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Secretary Blinken. We will now commence the question and answer portion with alternating questions from the Philippines side and the foreign media accompanying the U.S. delegation. From the Philippines side, can we entertain the question from Mikhail Flores of Reuters? Mikhail, you have the floor.
QUESTION: Good afternoon, secretaries. This question is for both of you. The White House announced that President Biden will host Prime Minister Kishida and President Marcos next month for the first trilateral summit. What form or shape will this trilateral cooperation take? And how will this be operationalized? Is the conduct of joint patrols in the South China Sea part of the discussion, and is this cooperation aimed at suppressing the rights of China, a word that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi used to describe when it comes to the U.S.’s actions in the region? Thank you.
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: Thank you very much. Yes, the scheduled trilateral summit will be held the second week of April in Washington, D.C., and, of course, this is the first of its kind. And the main aim I – we all expect is that the trilateral summit will seek to aim cooperation, more cooperation, especially at the trilateral level. This will include cooperation to promote economic growth and cooperation in various areas, such as in promoting clean energy. They will also discuss, we expect, climate cooperation, and of course further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and also around the world.
And I – at the moment, we’re also undertaking meetings at other levels, at senior official level, to see how this can also – how these various activities can be operationalized. So the basic aim, essentially, is to reaffirm also our historical ties of friendship, the – our commitment to shared democratic values and a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and how to further promote the prosperity, security, and peace of our peoples and of the region.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: And really I would just emphasize everything that the foreign secretary said, which I agree with. These are three countries that are – that have a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and I think a recognition that when we work together, when we collaborate, when we pool our resources – including in terms of economic cooperation, building critical infrastructure, humanitarian assistance – we are stronger when we do it together and bring together all the complementarities that we have. So that’s really what the summit’s about, as well as our work together to uphold international law, something that all three of our countries feel very strongly about.
And in terms of operationalizing it, I’m sure there’ll be things coming out of the summit meeting, but this is something the foreign secretary and I talked about today to make sure that even as we have this leaders summit, we have mechanisms in place to make sure that our teams are working together day in, day out so that the 364 days that follow the summit actually advance the work in concrete ways.
MODERATOR: Leon Bruneau for AFP, please.
QUESTION: Yes, hi. Thank you for hosting us. It’s a pleasure to be here in Manila. Question for both of you, a follow-up to my colleague from the Philippines. You mentioned the South China Sea and the harassment activities of China against Philippines vessels, navy, what have you. To what extent do those harassment activities trigger the activation of your mutual defense pact? I mean, what are – have you set red lines that would trigger the activation of the mutual defense pact?
And then more broadly, Secretary, you – obviously, the United States is in a huge push since the beginning of the Biden administration to beef up relations with the Philippines here, of course; South Korea, Japan, Australia, Pacific Islands, what have you. To what extent are you not in fact, as Beijing accuses you of doing – and Beijing also says – accuses the United States of using the Philippines as a pawn – to what extent are you not in fact encircling China and provoking Beijing?
And if I may – and I’m sorry to move on another region —
MODERATOR: (Inaudible) just one —
QUESTION: If I may ask a question on Niger, the junta asked the United States to pull out its troops. This comes after France was asked to pull out and has pulled out. Were you surprised by that decision? Were you disappointed? And it leaves a huge vacuum. What is your thoughts about that? Thank you very much.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Okay. Want me to start, or – so with – Leon, thank you. With regard to the Mutual Defense Treaty, I’ll simply repeat what I said. We stand behind it. We have an ironclad commitment to it and to the Philippines, and Article IV of that treaty extends to any armed attacks on Filipino armed forces, on public vessels, on aircraft, and that would include its coast guard. And that would also be anywhere in the South China Sea. So we’ve been very clear about that, very consistent about that.
With regard to the partnerships, to the alliances that we have been building out, that’s actually been a central focus of our foreign policy – not only re-energizing, reinvigorating existing partnerships and alliances, but reimagining them and building new ones that are fit for specific purposes. None of these are directed against anyone or anything. They’re in service of something. They’re for trying to realize the positive vision that all of the countries involved share of a free and open Indo-Pacific. And as is the case with the trilateral work we’re doing with the Philippines and Japan and we just both mentioned a moment ago, there’s a very strong affirmative agenda. But again, it’s not designed against anyone. It’s in service of realizing a common vision for the future to the benefit of peoples in all of our countries.
In terms of Niger, we made clear in Niger, including very recently, that we had a number of very real concerns in several areas and were troubled by the path that Niger was on. We are in touch, we remain in touch with the CNSP, and we’re discussing with them a path forward.
MODERATOR: Secretary Manalo.
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: Thank you. Well, I think Secretary Blinken was pretty clear that the Article IV of the MDT specifically states conditions under which it would take effect, and I think we will – we are following that.
On the issue of the partnership with the United States, let me just stress that this is a partnership aimed to produce greater cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, specifically aimed, among others, of improving our capacity for – to respond, for example, to humanitarian disaster relief operations and also to improve our national security and defense needs. And that is the main purpose behind this, to enhance Philippine defense and security interests as well as operations on humanitarian issues. They are not aimed at any third country, and they are specifically in accordance with our interests and needs and, of course, with the cooperation of the United States. So that – it’s – that is the main aim and in fact the only aim of these activities.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Secretary. Next set, Zen Hernandez of ABS CBN.
QUESTION: Good afternoon, secretaries. I know you both mentioned Article IV of the Mutual Defense Treaty and that it takes an armed attack to activate the said agreement, but we also know for a fact that there is an escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, specifically within the West Philippine Sea – Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal – and there have been collisions, injuries to – among Filipino crew, use of water cannon, and military-grade laser, clearly all gray zone tactics. So the question is whether there’s a way to address these incidents which fall just a little below the threshold of an armed conflict. Is there a way to adjust to changing tactics? And is there a stronger action that the international community can take? Because some experts say that the aggression of China in the South China Sea already warrants a sanction.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Let me say a few things to that. First, I think the Philippines has been extremely successful in pursuing and asserting its rights under the law, and we’ve seen that and the world has seen that. The world has also seen the very actions that you described taken by China in violation of international law and Filipino rights. The very visibility of those actions I think has provoked from a number of other countries clear statements in support of the Philippines and against these provocative actions that are a threat to peace, security, freedom of navigation, and basic rights under international law. So in and of itself, I think the actions that China’s undertaken have produced a reaction, not just from the Philippines but from a number of other countries.
In terms of what we’re doing, we’re engaged in intense diplomacy, as is the Philippines, so that countries come together – or even individually – to reaffirm international law, to reaffirm the rights that everyone is entitled to. That’s important.
Second, we have for many years made major investments in the capacity of the Philippines. Those investments continue, both in its maritime capacity but also more broadly in its economic capacity, because its economic strength and resilience is probably the most important factor in determining its long-term security. And I just described some of the things that we’re looking at doing to carry that forward in even more effective ways. So I think the response really has been and continues to be a comprehensive one so that the Philippines can be in the strongest possible position to affirm its rights, as it has been doing, and properly so.
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: Yes, in response to your query, I have to repeat that the Philippines has always maintained the policy of addressing any disputes and managing them through diplomatic means and through peaceful means, and we are still committed to that. But when we do so, it should be in – it is in accordance with our national interests, our sovereign rights, and firmly based on the rule of international law, including maritime law and more specifically the UNCLOS. And I think we’ve gotten a lot of support from countries, most especially the United States, in the approach that we have been taking, and we appreciate that very much.
At the same time, I think Secretary Blinken already mentioned ways in which we are getting support and we hope to get continuing support, and that is through economic cooperation through various means – not only through trade and investment in new areas such as renewable energy, through climate action, and other similar areas such as infrastructure. I think this only helps strengthen economic security of the Philippines, and it’s our economic resilience. At the same time, cooperation on defense and security measures will also enhance – help us enhance our security. So I think all of this work together to provide an appropriate way of addressing our security challenges in our region.
MODERATOR: Thank you, secretaries. Tom Bateman, BBC.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Good afternoon and thank you for hosting us, Mr. Foreign Secretary.
Mr. Secretary, if I could start, you’ve announced this afternoon you’re going to travel to the Middle East after being here. That’s your sixth trip to the region. There is now a very significant security vacuum in Gaza which is deepening the catastrophic conditions on the ground for civilians and especially affecting aid supplies to the north. So I want to ask you: How is this not a harbinger of Gaza’s future? We know the U.S. solution is that the Palestinian Authority reformed should control Gaza, but Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected this. That position seems integral to the continuity of his government now, so are you able to explain how you will square your position with the Israelis in any other way than Israel having a different prime minister?
Just to add to that, you made an extremely passionate defense of democracy and the importance of journalism in Seoul yesterday, and the U.S. role in defending that. We know the U.S. is the main military backer of Israel. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists now says at least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7th, the vast majority in Gaza among the huge civilian death toll there. At the same time, Israel and Egypt have still not given independent access to Gaza for foreign journalists to add to the work of local colleagues there, so what steps are you taking to address that?
Mr. Foreign Secretary, if I could just ask: We’re a few – we’re months way from an election in the U.S. I wanted to ask about the commitment that you feel – the value of a U.S. commitment these days when we’ve had two different administrations with very contrasting approaches to the value of multilateral institutions. What value can be staked in U.S. promises and commitments made to you?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Tom, thank you very much. So with regard to the trip that we’ll be taking from here going on to Saudi Arabia and to Egypt, the purpose is multifold. It’s of course to push for an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages. As you know, we’re intensely engaged on that every single day, and we’re doing everything we can to push that forward and to reach an agreement.
But it is also to continue the conversations that we started back in January on exactly the question you raised, which is post-conflict Gaza and the arrangements that will need to be made to provide for its governance, for its security, for humanitarian assistance, for its redevelopment. We’ve been doing a lot of work since January, particularly with our Arab partners, and we’ll be pursuing those conversations, as well as discussing what is the right architecture for lasting regional peace. There, too, a lot of work has been ongoing in the last weeks and last months. So that’s exactly what we’ll be doing there.
Beyond that, I can say we’ve also impressed upon Israel the imperative of having a plan for Gaza for when the conflict ends, which we hope will be as soon as possible consistent with Israel’s needs to defend itself and make sure that October 7th can never happen again. And there, as you know, we put out many months ago a number of principles in Tokyo regarding the future of Gaza. We stand by those principles, and the challenge now is to make sure that any plan for the future brings them to light. But that will be very much the focus of this visit.
Now, at the same time, as you mentioned, we continue to face a horrific humanitarian situation for children, for women, for men in Gaza. In the first instance, of course, this is something brought about by Hamas, by its actions on October 7th and by its actions ever since. This could have, as I’ve said repeatedly, been over many months ago if Hamas had put down its arms, stopped hiding behind civilians, released the hostages, and the world has been relatively silent on that ever since.
But as we’ve said from day one, it is also absolutely incumbent on Israel, as it acts to defend itself and prevent October 7th from happening again, to make it a priority to protect civilians – those who are caught in harm’s way – and to provide for those who desperately need humanitarian assistance. And this is something that we have worked on one way or another virtually every day since.
If you look at some of the assessments that we’re seeing now, they only underscore the urgency of making sure that this assistance is a priority and that it’s sustained. Again, according to the most respected measure of these things, 100 percent of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That’s the first time an entire population has been so classified. We also see – again, according to in this case the United Nations – 100 percent, the totality of the population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. Compare that to Sudan. About 80 percent of the population there is in need of humanitarian assistance; Afghanistan, about 70 percent.
So again, this only underscores both the urgency, the imperative of making this the priority. We’ve seen positive actions in the last couple of weeks, including the opening of a new access point that’s allowing aid to go both north and south; the increase in the flow of traffic from Jordan into Kerem Shalom; the beginnings of the establishment of a maritime corridor led by the United States; and a number of other places where there’s been improvement – trucks getting to the north for the first time in a long time. But – more – we need more. We need it to be sustained and we need it to be a priority if we’re going to effectively address the needs of people, so that also will be – remains very much a part, a central part, of our conversations.
With regard to journalists, let me say very quickly, first of all, my own deep admiration and respect for all of your colleagues who put themselves in harm’s way to try to bring the facts, the truth, the stories to the world. And we see around the world, especially in recent years, journalists increasingly being under fire for their work, in some cases literally under fire, and we know the number of journalists who’ve lost their lives in Gaza. And as a basic matter of principle, we want to see access for journalists wherever there is conflict, wherever there’s an important story to cover, so that the world can have knowledge, can see and see through the eyes and through the lens of journalists.
So that’s something that we bring up in every instance. There are obviously profound security considerations in an active war zone, and those have to be taken into account, but the basic principle of access for journalists is something we stand strongly behind.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Secretary Blinken and Manalo, for this interaction with —
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: (Inaudible.)
MODERATOR: The secretary would like to say something. (Laughter.)
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: Oh, you wanted to cut me off.
MODERATOR: No sir. Not you, sir.
FOREIGN SECRETARY MANALO: I would just very briefly – I think it was on the value that we attach – well, I think I can just – I could have said it so simply to say that when I said earlier that I think our relationship with the United States has never been higher and greater and we’re both committed to even elevating it further. And I – and this is based on many considerations.
But even beyond that, I think our relationship is not only because it’s a short-term relationship or anything like that. It’s really based on some very enduring interests: first, our commitment to democracy and to also adherence to the rule of law, and the fact that we have a shared vision on the necessity of promoting peace, security, and development in the Indo-Pacific region. And we have a partnership which has lasted not only the 70 years of official democratic relations but goes back hundreds of years, so I think these are elements which will always be there, and I think these will – this will underpin our relationship in the years ahead.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Secretary Manalo and Secretary Blinken, for interaction with the press. We thank everybody for joining us in this joint press conference. We wish the U.S. delegation as well as the foreign press accompanying the delegation productive meeting in the Philippines, as well as safe travels back to the United States. Thank you very much and good afternoon to all.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-and-philippines-secretary-of-foreign-affairs-enrique-manalo-at-a-joint-press-availability/
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
