Manila confident Trump will continue military patrols in disputed sea

Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Romualdez (center) during a news conference with the Foreign Correspondents Association in Manila, yesterday

The Philippines’ top diplomat to the United States expressed confidence yesterday that President Donald Trump’s new administration would continue military patrols in the disputed South China Sea and move ahead with an agreed expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines, as concerns rise over China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region.

Ambassador Jose Romualdez, who has had meetings with Trump’s diplomatic, defense and congressional officials, said the U.S. would likely maintain its support to help modernize the Philippine military, which is at the forefront of deterring China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed waters.

“All of that will remain,” Romualdez told foreign correspondents at a news conference in Manila. “I am confident that it will.”

A Washington meeting between Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was being arranged and could happen as soon as both leaders’ schedules allow, maybe in the spring, Romualdez said.

There was no immediate comment by Chinese officials on Romualdez’s statements.

Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and moves to roll back Washington’s development assistance and security aid worldwide have set off concerns about the scale and depth of the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific in his new term.

In recent talks between Philippine defense and military officials and their American counterparts, both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to maintain robust ties.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month and “not only reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the United States-Philippines alliance but noted his enthusiasm for building an even more invested and enduring relationship,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said then.

Their “discussions included the ongoing bilateral coordination on addressing China’s destabilizing actions in the South China Sea and increasing economic cooperation on infrastructure, critical minerals, information technology and energy, including through civil nuclear cooperation,” Bruce said.

Confrontations between China and the Philippines have flared up in recent years in the South China Sea, a major global trade route, where Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have had overlapping claims for decades.

Romualdez said helping the Philippines stand up to threats to unhindered passage and overflight in the contested waters would benefit the U.S. and other allied and friendly countries, which are strengthening their defense ties with Manila.

“We’re right in the forefront of this push to make sure that the Indo-Pacific region remains free and clear,” he said.

Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, took steps to strengthen an arc of security alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China’s assertiveness, including in any future confrontation over self-governed Taiwan.

That has aligned with Marcos’ thrust to strengthen his country’s external defenses to protect the territorial interests of the Philippines in the South China Sea. JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP