Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro spoke to two new members of the President Donald Trump's Cabinet on Wednesday.
New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Manalo discussed China's "dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea" in their first phone conversation following the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday.
Teodoro along with Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez met with newly appointed US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz at the White House on the same day.
In a readout, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio spoke with Manalo (on January 22) about issues of mutual concern, including the PRC’s dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea.
"Secretary Rubio conveyed that the PRC’s behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law," he said.
Manalo congratulated Rubio on his appointment as they "discussed the importance of the PH-US alliance for the prosperity and security of the Indo Pacific.'
"We look forward to working with Secretary Rubio and his team towards addressing challenges and sustaining the momentum and positive trajectory in our bilateral relations," he said in his X (twitter) post.
During their conversation, Rubio also "underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty."
Bruce said the two "secretaries also exchanged views on ways to advance security cooperation, expand economic ties for shared prosperity, and deepen avenues for further regional cooperation."
Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong, Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman, said the Philippines, represented by Teodoro, is among the first countries to engage with the new US administration to discuss critical security matters.
During their meeting, "Teodoro extended the Philippines' congratulations to the US on a successful transition of leadership, emphasizing the shared commitment to peace, stability, and mutual security interests in the region" while Waltz also expressed his appreciation of President Marcos’ efforts to uphold freedom of navigation and a rules-based international order.
Andolong said Teodoro also highlighted the importance of strengthening bilateral defense ties between the two countries in addressing emerging geopolitical challenges as Waltz and his team underscored the need to enhance cooperation with the Philippines and looked forward to increasing mutual security activities in support of a free and global Indo-Pacific, an initiative dating back to Trump’s first presidency.
"This engagement marked a significant step in further advancing the decades-long alliance between the Philippines and the United States, signaling a renewed commitment to collaboration under the Trump administration. Both sides expressed optimism about deepening defense and security cooperation in the years ahead," he said.
Teodoro also met with Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Andrew Byers, and NSC Senior Director for Asia Ivan Kanapathy. Robina Asido/DMS