President Joe Biden meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
By The Associated Press
President Joe Biden met Thursday with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, giving Biden his first chance for face-to-face engagement with a key Pacific leader who came to power earlier this year.
The pair discussed tensions in the South China Sea, the long-standing security relationship between the U.S. and Philippines, the state of the global economy, and other issues. Biden said they would also address human rights. Biden also noted that the Philippines was among U.S. allies to quickly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a critical, critical relationship,” Biden told Marcos at the start of the meeting. “I hope you feel the same.”
The talks come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over America’s Taiwan policy. The United States’ “One China” policy recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. China claims the self-ruled island as its own.
Marcos, the son and the country’s former President, took office in June. He has said he wants to pursue closer ties with China, which has also sought to court him.
Biden has put a premium on improving relations with Pacific nations in the early going of his presidency as he sees a rising China as the most threatening economic and national security adversary to the United States.
Marcos, for his part, underscored to Biden that the Philippines is “your partners, we are your allies, we are your friends.” He also thanked the U.S. for its “massive” assistance during the pandemic, including sharing COVID-19 vaccines, and for its role in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
“The role of the United States in maintaining the peace in our region is something that is much appreciated by all the countries in the region, and the Philippines, especially,” Marcos said. He added, “The 100-plus-year-old relationship between the Philippines and the U.S. continues to evolve as we face the challenges of this new century.”
Before Marcos took office earlier this year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that “historical considerations” could present “challenges” to the relationship with Marcos Jr. That appeared to be a reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.