Philippine, US defence pacts to stay intact, envoy to Washington says

Existing defence agreements between allies the Philippines and the United States will stay intact under U.S. President Donald Trump, Manila's ambassador to the United States said on Monday.

The United States and its former colony, the Philippines, are staunch defence allies, with U.S. troops rotating in and out of the Southeast Asian country regularly and dozens of joint exercises held each year.

"All of that will remain," Jose Manuel Romualdez said on the sidelines of a forum with foreign media in Manila.

He was replying to a query about U.S. security support for the Philippines, from military financing and patrols in the South China Sea to Philippine defence facilities used by U.S. forces under their alliance.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is ready to travel when Trump has time for a meeting, which could be in spring, Romualdez added.

The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including $336 million earmarked to modernise the Philippine security forces, Reuters reported last month.

The release of the $336 million in funds was a good indication of the administration's position, Romualdez said.

Romualdez said the figure was part of $500 million the United States pledged last year to the Philippine military and coast guard as Manila faces Chinese actions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

"We're hopeful that the succeeding monies will be made available to us in the next couple of years," said Romualdez, who also served as Philippine ambassador to the United States during Trump's first presidency.

The Philippines needed these investments to become a real partner, as the United States expects allies to be, Romualdez said, expressing confidence about Washington's continued support for his country and the Indo-Pacific region.

The United States has also deployed to the Philippines a Typhon multipurpose missile system for training purposes, angering China, which has repeatedly said the move poses a threat to regional stability.

The Philippines seeks to import liquefied natural gas from the United States in a "give and take" on trade, Romualdez said.

His remarks come as Southeast Asian neighbours such as Vietnam and Thailand, scramble to cut U.S. trade surpluses after Trump set an April 1 deadline for his government to complete a review of all its trade relationships.

"Trump's idea of what the United States wants to do is helping other countries become a real partner," said Romualdez, who is a cousin of Marcos.

A Philippine finance official told the forum the government was exploring alternative sources of financing to ensure continuity of projects hit by a freezing of funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Finance Undersecretary Domini Velasquez said the freeze order could affect 29 projects worth more than $600 million, spanning health, education and the economy.

The government is discussing potential funding from other bilateral partners and state agencies to get financial support, she added.