Top US official meets Philippine president-elect in push to deepen alliance

MANILA, 10 June 2022, (TON): US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Thursday in a diplomatic push to deepen Washington’s alliance with its major Asian partner.

Sherman is the first top foreign official to meet the incoming Philippine leader, who takes office on June 30.

She also met outgoing Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs tweeted that Sherman was in Manila to meet with both outgoing and incoming administrations to reaffirm US commitment to the PH-US alliance.

The Philippines is one of the oldest and main non-NATO allies of the US in the region that is central to American competition with China.

The US-Philippines alliance is anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which commits Washington and Manila to extend military support to each other if either of them is attacked by an external party.

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