PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Monday, April 24, 2023, that he and his United States counterpart Joe Biden will discuss the existing defense cooperation agreement between the two countries during their meeting scheduled next month.
In a radio interview, Marcos said there is a need to “evolve” the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US due to developing situations in the region.
"'Yung VFA natin, 'yung Visiting Forces Agreement and the treaty that we have, the Mutual Defense Treaty that we have with the United States, we have to evolve it. It has to evolve dahil nag-i-evolve din, kailangan ina-adjust-adjust natin 'yan dahil may nagbabago sa sitwasyon na hinaharap natin dito sa South China Sea, sa Taiwan, sa North Korea, umiinit 'yung sitwasyon dito sa atin," he said.
“Dahil ngayon medyo mabibigat na ‘yung usapan, medyo nagkakabitawan na ng maaanghang na salita. Siyempre, inaalala natin ‘yan and the US has always been our partner in terms of the special relationship between the PH and the US,” he added.
Marcos said they will also tackle treaty agreement concerning climate change, particularly on how to deal with it.
For the second time since he took office, Marcos will again set foot in the US from April 30 to May 4.
The bilateral meeting between Marcos and Biden came amid the ongoing establishment of four more Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites, or military bases which can be accessed by US military troops for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and establishment of facilities.
Last week, a Chinese official seemingly warned the Philippines against its decision to allow the US access to its military bases near the Taiwan strait.
The official advised the Philippines to “unequivocally oppose” Taiwan independence instead of “stoking the fire” “if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs.”
China is claiming Taiwan as its territory.
Earlier, Marcos Jr. said the National Government is not looking into invoking the country’s MDT with the US amid the continuous display of aggressiveness of China in the disputed waters off West Philippine Sea. (SunStar Philippines)