Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal/File Photo
By Cliff Venzon
Mar 3, 2025 (Bloomberg) –The Philippines is optimistic of Washington’s continued military support under President Donald Trump, but the Southeast Asian nation should be prepared if aid is discontinued, Manila’s envoy to the US said, in the wake of renewed pressure between America and its western allies.
“I think all of that will remain. I am confident that it will,” Jose Manuel Romualdez, told foreign reporters during a forum on Monday, referring to American aid and defense support for the Philippines. Trump’s state and defense secretaries have reaffirmed Washington’s ironclad support for the Philippines’ security as the Southeast Asian nation faces down an ongoing maritime dispute with Beijing.
But the Philippines should also be self-reliant, Romualdez said following the breakdown of Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meeting last week. The incident, he said, shows that the Trump administration wants to end its financial support for Ukraine.
“We have to all be ready for that type of situation,” he said. “It may be some other president in the future, but at the end of the day, each country now has to be ready to be able to beef up its own defense, beef up its own economic security.”
The Trump administration has exempted $336 million in military financing from the freeze on US aid, and Romualdez said “we are hopeful that the succeeding monies will be made available to us in the next couple of years.”
The Philippines and the US bolstered security ties under the previous Biden administration, with Manila granting US military access to more Philippine sites and Washington pledging to spend more to boost its ally’s defense capacity amid rising tensions with Beijing.
“The Philippines faces an existential threat in the South China Sea and our desire to develop our defense capabilities to address this threat aligns with US interest to maintain peace and stability in this part of the world,” Romualdez said.
US-Philippine relations have withstood the test of time and “will continue to do so under the Trump administration,” Romualdez reiterated Monday. A meeting between Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also being arranged, the diplomat said.
Read More: Philippines’ Marcos Seeks Reassurances From Trump Over Alliance
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