Philippines-US ties to stay firm regardless of election due to common interests: analysts
Whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the US election, Washington-Manila security ties will remain sturdy, analysts say
Observers say while the election outcome is not expected to derail relations between Washington and its long-time ally, the Philippines should prepare for how it can work with the next US administration.
“The leverage that Manila holds at this juncture lies in the convergence of strategic interests and the alliance,” geopolitical analyst Matteo Piasentini told This Week in Asia, referring to the 73-year-old security pact between the Philippines and the United States that both countries have taken steps to fortify recently amid increasing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Piasentini, an international relations lecturer at the University of the Philippines, added that while there might be a difference in policy approach between Trump and Harris, “the US geostrategic interests remain consistent” and that Manila remained a part of the American equation in the region “in terms of defence and security”.
Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said Trump and Harris were likely familiar with the security and economic stakes for the US in the Philippines with both presidential candidates having visited Manila during their term of office.
Harris was widely expected to continue President Joe Biden’s policies in the region if she were to win and treat the 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines as – in the words of Biden – “ironclad”, Piasentini said. “Notably, during the Trump administration, the US affirmed its MDT commitments in the South China Sea,” he added.
