(Adnkronos) – New agreement between the United States and the Philippines. The alliance is strengthened against China. And Beijing does not hide its ire. In Manila, the Biden administration’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and the Philippine government’s Defense Minister, Gilberto Teodoro, signed the ‘General Security of Military Information Agreement’, which – according to US media – will be used to ensure the exchange of classified military information and technology. But, at least for now, few details have been released.
Austin is visiting the Philippines at a “transformative time for the US-Philippines alliance,” as the world watches Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “We are committed to strengthening our alliance, security in the region, and supporting shared values in the Indo-Pacific,” Austin said in a post on X. In Manila, he met with President Ferdinand Marcos, their third face-to-face meeting since the beginning of the year, to “reaffirm our ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines”.
And he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a Joint Coordination Center, which “will enhance interoperability for years to come and is a testament to the unprecedented level of operational cooperation between the US and the Philippines.”
For Beijing’s diplomacy, protagonist of an escalation of tensions with the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea, any military or security cooperation agreement “must not target or harm the interests of a third party, prejudice peace in the region, exacerbate tensions.
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, “the only right choice to safeguard national security and maintain peace and stability in the region is to have good neighborly relations.” And, he urged in remarks reported by the Global Times, “to maintain strategic autonomy”.
