Marcos, Biden meet on sidelines of 77th UNGA

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. met with United States President Joe Biden in New York City Thursday morning (US time) at the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), whereby they discussed a wide variety of issues, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Prior to the bilateral meeting, Biden and Marcos gave a brief address in which Biden stated his desire to speak with Marcos in-depth about the territorial issue the Philippines has with China.

“I expect we’ll discuss the South China Sea and disputes in a critical global throughway,” he told Marcos. “I’ve spent a lot of time with — not only the President of China but others about the international waters and how they have to be respected. And we should talk about that a little bit, I hope.”

Despite the historic arbitration verdict in 2016 dismissing China’s nine-dash claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, Washington has accused Beijing of increasing its provocations against its rival claims in the region.

Even US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken vowed to preserve the Mutual Defense Treaty, which specifies that if either nation is invaded by an outside force, the other will defend itself.

In response, Marcos stated a similar viewpoint but highlighted that the nation’s strategy for the maritime conflict is to preserve peace.

“In terms of the geopolitical issues that we face in this day and age, the primary consideration of the Philippines and the guiding principle of the Philippine foreign policy is to encourage peace,” he told Biden.

“I hope that we will be able to discuss further the roles that our two countries will play together and individually as we continue down that road, maintaining peace despite all of the complexities that have arisen in the past few months, I suppose,” Marcos added.

He also called on the members of UN to resolve disputes “through reason and right” amid tensions in the WPS.

The US president briefly listed the subjects he wants to talk with Marcos on in-depth, including COVID-19 recovery, energy security, renewable energy, and human rights.

In addition, Biden expressed appreciation for the Philippines’ stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting ongoing discussions on how it is affecting the cost of food and energy in both nations.

“For decades, the alliance has strengthened both of us, I believe,” he told Marcos. “And one of the things I want to talk about today is how we continue to strengthen that and work together on the things that are of greatest concern to you.”

Marcos, in return, also thanked his US counterpart for Washington’s support amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He cited the millions of doses of vaccines donated by the US.

“We feel that we are especially fortunate because we have a very strong foundation of a very long relationship and the strong relationships on various facets not only political, not only diplomatic, but also economic,” the Philippine leader said.

Biden began the meeting by thanking Marcos and praising the “deeply-rooted” connections between the two countries.

“The relationship between the United States and the Philippines, to state the obvious, has very deep roots,” the US president said.

“We’ve had some rocky times, but the fact is it’s a critical, critical relationship, from our perspective,” he added. “I hope you feel the same way.”

Millions of Filipino Americans, according to Biden, “desperately” want the foundation and close ties between the two countries to remain.

Marcos assured Biden of a solid US-Philippine partnership as they concluded their meeting.

“We are your partners. We are your allies. We are your friends,” Marcos said.

“And in like fashion, we have always considered the United States our partner, our ally, and our friend,” he also said.