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1 1 (June 18, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepvu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con res tnaI Ftesear h Service in o in I le ~i I live d J~a e ii ce 1914 Updated June 18, 2024 The Philippines Overyvew and Recent Developments The United States and the Republic of the Philippines maintain a deep relationship that includes a bilateral security alliance, extensive military cooperation, close people-to-people ties, and many shared strategic and economic interests. U.S. administration of the Philippines as a colonial territory (1898-1946), which followed 300 years of Spanish rule, shaped the relationship. Situated east of the South China Sea and south of Taiwan, the Philippines has long played an important role in U.S. Asia policy as a close security and counterterrorism partner. The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) requires the two countries to help defend each other against external armed attack. The 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement governs the legal status of U.S. military forces operating in the Philippines. The Biden Administration has made revitalizing U.S. alliances in Asia-including with the Philippines-a key pillar of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. The Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC or China), and others have long-standing disputes over waters and land features in the South China Sea. Rising tensions between the Philippines and China over maritime claims are a potential flashpoint in the region. The United States is the Philippines' third-largest trading partner, after China and Japan, and its largest export market. The Philippines is one of 14 members of the Indo- Pacific Economic Framework Initiative, which the Administration launched in May 2022. ,e I. The Philippines at a Glance Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. was elected president of the Philippines in 2022. Marcos's father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, including through martial law from 1972 until he was ousted by the 1986 People Power Revolution. Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte (in office 2016-2022), won the vice presidency. The Philippine constitution limits both the president and vice president, who are elected on separate tickets, to one six-year term. In June 2024, Duterte-Carpio resigned from the Marcos cabinet, a move that may be intended to distance herself from Marcos politically. During Marcos's visit to Washington, DC, in May 2023, the two allies established new Bilateral Defense Guidelines, which aim to modernize Philippine defense capabilities, deepen interoperability, enhance bilateral planning and information-sharing, and combat transnational and nonconventional threats. The guidelines appear to reinforce treaty obligations, stating that an armed attack anywhere in the South China Sea, on either party's armed forces- which includes both nations' Coast Guards-aircraft, or public vessels, would invoke mutual defense commitments under the MDT. Fore gn Relations Unlike former President Duterte, who sought early in his term to strengthen ties with the PRC, Marcos has reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Philippines alliance, while seeking to maintain a stable relationship with China. The Marcos government also has strengthened security relations with Australia, Japan, and other U.S. allies. The Philippines has a reciprocal access agreement with Australia and is set to sign one with Japan in July 2024. In April 2024, a U.S.- Japan-Philippines summit was held in Washington, DC, to promote trilateral cooperation in multiple areas, including security, infrastructure investment in the Philippines, joint technology development, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. military assistance in the East Asia-Pacific region, including Foreign Military Financing and assistance under the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative. U.S. military and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel conduct regular joint military exercises and maritime patrols, collaborate on counterterrorism, and carry out humanitarian activities. In 2024, over 16,000 primarily U.S. and AFP soldiers participated in Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder), the alliance's premier annual bilateral exercise, in the Philippines. Smaller contingents of Australian and French troops also participated. For the first time, military drills focused on maritime security took place outside the Philippines' territorial waters (12 nautical miles)-in the country's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), challenging China's claims in the South China Sea. In 2014, the U.S. and Philippine governments signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), 22 years after the U.S. military withdrew from Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines. EDCA allows for the rotational presence of U.S. military forces, aircraft, and ships at agreed locations in the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines prohibits the establishment

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