Trump to host Philippine president to discuss trade and security in Asia

MANILA Philippines AP U S President Donald Trump will host his Philippine counterpart in the White House this month to discuss how the longtime treaty allies can further deepen their shield and economic engagements Philippine administrators revealed Friday Related Articles States scramble to shield hospitals from GOP Medicaid cuts A recap of the trial over the Trump administration s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters Mistaken reports of ICE raids are stoking fear troubling law enforcement in Southern California US is selling weapons to NATO allies to give to Ukraine Trump says Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr s will visit the United States from July to but Philippine executives were still finalizing details of his meeting with Trump with the U S State Department the Philippine cabinet noted The allies have boosted mutual defense engagements including large-scale combat exercises in the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against China s increasingly aggressive actions in the region Among the proposed topics for discussion is strengthening peace through deterrence Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez recounted The Associated Press by telephone That echoed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth s remarks about the U S military s plan to ratchet up deterrence against China s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea by intensifying prevention engagements with the Philippines and allied nations in the region The Philippines has also expressed concern over a tariff the Trump administration plans to impose on Manila s exports starting Aug unless a deal was reached A Philippine commerce delegation would journey to the U S next week to pursue negotiations with American counterparts U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Japanese and Philippine counterparts in a meeting Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations annual ministerial meetings in Malaysia The U S Japan and the Philippines have been building a trilateral bloc to broaden precaution and economic cooperation We have a great relationship with Japan and the Philippines and work closely with them on the economic corridor on maritime guard and territorial integrity and continue to build upon that partnership Rubio commented after his meeting in Malaysia with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro Washington looks forward to hosting the president of the Philippines in Washington in a sparse days The U S has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines its oldest treaty ally in Asia if Philippine forces ships or aircraft come under armed attack including in the South China Sea China the Philippines Vietnam Malaysia Brunei and Taiwan have been involved in long-unresolved territorial conflicts in the busy sea passage a key global business trail Japan also has a separate territorial conflict with China over small Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea