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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Philippine leaders at the State Department as the two countries began their largest joint military drills Tuesday, amid increased tensions with China over Taiwan and Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: US - Philippines TV
HEADLINE: US, Philippines Meet in Washington Amid Tensions in Pacific
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday 04/12/2023 at 00:01 EDT
BYLINE: Carla Babb
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Mary Cieslak
SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCES: Reuters, AFP, AP, Microsoft Teams, US Department of Defense
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:32
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Philippine leaders at the State Department as the two countries began their largest joint military drills Tuesday, amid increased tensions with China over Taiwan and Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.]]
((NARRATOR)) ((Courtesy Dept. of Defense, file 2022))
((Nats of helicopter))
U.S. and Filipino soldiers launched Balikatan military drills in the Philippines
as leaders from the two nations met in Washington for the first such talks in seven years.
((Enrique Manalo, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs))
“At today's meeting, we redoubled our commitment to modernizing the Philippine-U.S. alliance, recognizing that our partnership will need to play a stronger role in preserving an international-law-based international order.”
((Flash of White))
((Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense))
“I'm excited about the ability to increase interoperability, and I look forward to continuing our great work together.”
((NARRATOR))
Those words are a far cry from the state of U.S.-Philippine relations just three years ago, when then-President Rodrigo Duterte openly disapproved of the military alliance.
((Greg Poling, CSIS Southeast Asia Program Director))
“The U.S.-Philippine alliance is really having a once-in-a-generation moment right now where both sides have realized maybe for the first time in a couple decades that they really need each other.”
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: Dept. of Defense))
The Philippines is among the least developed of America’s military allies in the region, and it faces an acute threat from one of the world’s most powerful militaries: China.
((Greg Poling, CSIS Southeast Asia Program Director))
“For more than a decade, three Philippine presidents now, Beijing has just refused to give the Philippines some breathing space in the South China Sea.”
((NARRATOR))
In 2012, China pushed the Philippines out of Scarborough Shoal — a territory well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea — and claimed it as Chinese territory.
Both sides have militarized islands in the South China Sea and are in constant conflict.
((NAT of radio in cockpit))
That’s the Chinese coast guard telling a Philippine coast guard plane last month to immediately leave what it called Chinese territory over the disputed Spratly Islands.
((NARRATOR))
The U.S. and the Philippines have now agreed on U.S. access to four new bases in the Philippines, key locations near the contested South China Sea and Taiwan, another geopolitical flashpoint looming large in the region.
((Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State))
“Our goal is peace, security, stability, creating opportunity. It's not to engage in a new Cold War. It's not to contain China.”
China completed three days of military exercises around Taiwan on Monday, which included a drill that simulated precision strikes on the island. The Chinese Communist Party has vowed to control the democratic island by 2027, using force if necessary.
((CARLA BABB, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON))
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
Embargo DateApril 11, 2023 22:49 EDT
BylineCarla Babb
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America, Voice of America - English