‘Phl-US military exercises on this year’

MANILA, Philippines – The United States will remain committed to its security alliances and no “dramatic changes” are expected in its engagement with Asia-Pacific nations, including the Philippines, under new President Donald Trump.

US Ambassador Sung Kim gave this assurance yesterday as he noted that the annual military exercises between his country and the Philippines are pushing through this year as planned, as agreed upon by both sides, with some “cosmetic changes.”

“We stand by our commitments to our alliances,” Kim told a small group of journalists at his official residence in Makati.

He refused to comment on speculative scenarios about Chinese actions in the South China Sea. But he said the Trump administration would remain committed to its goals in the region, which are to uphold international rules and maintain freedom of navigation and commerce.

Kim also agreed with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that the Philippines should not be caught in a proxy war between the US and China.

“The Philippines should not be a proxy for anybody,” Kim said. “We have tremendous respect for the Philippines as a sovereign state. We’re not going to ask the Philippines to be a proxy for us on anything – the South China Sea or some other issue.”

He said that in Washington there remains “strong bipartisan support and interest in US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.”

“We have some of our strongest, closest alliances in the region,” Kim said. “We recognize that there are some strategic challenges in this region. So it’s in a sense more important than ever that we continue to work on these security partnerships.”

Kim said concerns about the future of the security alliance between his country and the Philippines are “exaggerated (and) misplaced.”

“My sense is that our security partnership with the Philippines remains very strong,” Kim said, adding that the US has received “clear, unambiguous signals” from Philippine officials along this line.

Even President Duterte acknowledged the importance of the alliance during their meeting, Kim said, adding that the two countries shared concerns over the terrorist threat, particularly in Mindanao.

“We expect to carry out a robust set of military exercises this year, as has been planned for several years,” Kim said.

At the height of Duterte’s displeasure over then US president Barack Obama and Kim’s predecessor Philip Goldberg, the Philippine leader had said he wanted US troops out of Mindanao. He also threatened to scrap the joint military exercises.