THE United States said it is looking forward to working with the next Philippine president, adding it sees no change in its relations with its key ally in the region.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price made the remarks in a briefing in Washington Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) two days after the May 9 elections in the Philippines, which the only son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos is winning by a landslide.
“We are monitoring the election results and we look forward to renewing our special partnership and to working with the next administration on key human rights and regional priorities,” Price said.
Price also said Monday’s elections were held according to international standards and without any major incident.
“What I can say, from a technical standpoint, is that we understand the casting and counting of votes to have been conducted in line with international standards and without significant incident,” he said.
China, Australia, Japan and the European Union congratulated the Philippines for the conduct of the elections.
China said will continue to work with the Philippines under a Marcos presidency and remain committed to a friendship with its neighbor, will focus on post-COVID growth, expand win-win cooperation, and bring more tangible benefits to both peoples, said the statement, quoting China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.
Under the Duterte administration, Manila sought closer ties with Beijing away from its traditional ally, Washington.
‘ENDURING ALLIANCE’
Price declined to comment on whether Washington has any concern with Marcos Jr. possibly being the next Philippine president considering his wide lead over his closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo in partial unofficial results.
Price said the count is still ongoing and it is not for the US to declare the winner in Philippine elections.
“We’ll wait for the Philippines election authorities to do that. We look forward to working with the president-elect on the shared values and the shared interests that have united our countries across generations,” he added.
However, he stressed he sees no change in the ties between the two countries, whoever gets elected as president.
“It is an enduring alliance that is rooted in a long and deeply interwoven history that shares democratic values and interests and strong people-to-people ties between our countries as friends, as partners, as allies,” he said.
Price added Washington will also closely work with Manila to advanced a “free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region” while working to promote and strengthen respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Manila had a prickly relationship with Washington under the current Duterte administration, with the latter bristling at US criticism of his government’s human right records and the bloody anti-drugs war.
Duterte also sought closer ties with Russia and China, two of the US’ traditional geopolitical rivals. At one point, he even threatened to put an end to the Visiting Forces Agreement that governs the conduct of US military forces while in the country during training exercises with their Filipino counterparts.
But he did not push through with his threat and the military exercises continue, with this year’s “Balikatan” exercises drawing thousands of US troops.
Duterte also offered the US the use of facilities in the country if there is a spillover in the region of the war in Ukraine triggered by Russian invasion in February.
The US has also provided assistance to the Philippines in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the US Embassy in Manila saying late last month that it has delivered 33 million doses of COVID vaccines and $39 million, about P1.9 billion, in other assistance.
Last May 6, the US Senate also confirmed Mary Kay Loss Carlson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, to be the next US ambassador to Manila.
CONGRATS
China’s Zhao congratulated the Philippines on the “smooth presidential election.”
“Our congratulations also go to the leading candidates. We hope and believe that various political forces in the Philippines will continue to work in solidarity for national renewal and development,” Zhao said.
Duterte used his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping to entice more investments, particularly for his administration’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure projects although the billions worth of commitments did not fully materialized.
A irritant in ties is Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea but Zhao said the flourishing relationship of the two countries has delivered benefits to both and contributed to regional peace and stability.
Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko extended his government’s “sincerest congratulations” to Manila for the conduct of the national elections.
“I look forward to working with the new administration in bringing ties to greater heights,” he added.
Japan has been the largest contributor of official development assistance to the country for the last 20 years, totaling $14.139 billion, while it also assisted in Manila’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Ambassador Steven Robinsons offered similar congratulations and said his government is ready to engage with the next administration.
“We look forward to working with the next President, Vice President and all the officials democratically elected by the Philippine people,” Robinsons said.
The European Union also commended the country for the conduct of the elections and said it is hoping to foster closer ties with the incoming administration. — With Reuters
“The EU Delegation to the Philippines joined international and local observers in observing the elections in the different parts of Metro Manila and the nearby provinces and commends the Philippines for conducting a peaceful, free and fair elections,” it said.
“We look forward to working with the incoming administration for the next six years and foster closer EU-Philippines relation,” it added.
The outgoing Duterte administration has a prickly relationship with the regional bloc owing for its criticism of Manila’s human rights records as well as the bloody crackdown against illegal drugs.
