US thanks Philippines for thriving partnership

MANILA, Philippines — The United States yesterday thanked the Philippines for the continuing and growing friendship between the two nations as friends, partners and allies.

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson expressed her gratitude to President Marcos for highlighting such friendship and how it will be sustained.

“This Philippine-American Friendship Day, we commemorate the deep bond between our nations built on shared values and aspirations. May our thriving partnership continue to bring strength and prosperity to both our peoples,” Carlson said in a Twitter post.

She also shared a tweet by Marcos himself where the latter acknowledged the strong alliance and partnership between the Philippines and the US.

“On this joyous occasion of Philippine-American Friendship Day, we commemorate the deep connection between our nations, built on the foundation of trust and collaboration,” Marcos said.

“As allies, let us continue to stand together, embracing the values of democracy, freedom and equality, forging a path toward a more prosperous and inclusive future for all,” he added.

In response, Carlson, who became US ambassador to the Philippines shortly after Marcos was sworn into office last year, said: “Thank you. We are honored to be your #FriendsPartnersAllies.” 

In an op-ed piece also issued yesterday, Carlson noted that July 4 is when Americans all over the world are also celebrating the anniversary of US independence.

“Here in the Philippines, we are also commemorating the 69th Philippine-American Friendship Day, making July 4 doubly special – a time to celebrate all that the Philippines and the United States have accomplished together as steadfast friends, partners in prosperity and ironclad allies,” she said.

“Since I arrived in July last year, I’ve had the opportunity to see the deep, multifaceted US-Philippine relationship at work,” she added, sharing stories about her recent trips and engagements in Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Tacloban and Isabela, and describing them as trips, like many other milestones, that “mark strong momentum in US-Philippine relations.”

Carlson also emphasized how this year was highlighted by “the resoundingly successful visit” of Marcos to Washington DC, where he had an Oval Office meeting with US President Joe Biden and “our leaders discussed the full spectrum of our relationship as friends, partners and allies.”

“President Biden reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to the Alliance and announced a first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines. Our leaders also discussed new efforts to promote clean energy, expand science and technology cooperation and protect the environment,” Carlson said.

She also mentioned how this year saw the successful conclusion of the largest and most complex iteration of the Balikatan exercise where over 17,000 troops from the US and the Philippines, as well as a contingent from Australia, “trained shoulder-to-shoulder on land, at sea, in the air and – for the first time – in cyberspace.”