Marcos: No Phl-US defense deal reached in Trump talks

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday that no new defense or security agreements were discussed or signed during his inaugural bilateral meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

Speaking to Filipino journalist at the Blair House where he stayed upon the invitation of Trump, Marcos cited time constraints as the reason why their meeting did not touch on the expansion of defense cooperation between Manila and Washington – which are treaty allies.

“As a matter of fact, there were – during the meetings, there were no agreements that were up for discussion at the time, kasi sandali lang,” he said.

“Actually Secretary Gilbert [Teodoro], yes, Secretary Gilbert and the other Cabinet secretaries came ahead. They – some of them were here. They’re 17, more or less around there,” he added.

Marcos said some defense discussions had already taken place prior to his arrival on Sunday, involving key Cabinet officials and their American counterparts.

“So, maraming na silang napag-usapan. But you’ll have to understand whatever defense arrangements were arrived at, not so we cannot talk about because there are operational details. But maybe there is something that you can discuss,” he said.

For his part, Teodoro noted that while no major new security agreements were made, his discussions with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth focused on enhancing existing areas of cooperation between the two countries.

“[T]he gist of the discussion was the enhancement of our ongoing collaborative activities, bilaterally and multilaterally,” he said. “Of course, we are nuancing the Balikatan as an interoperability exercise that in the case too, it also readies the Armed Forces of the Philippines to adapt to new skill sets, face new threats and challenges, and ultimately acquire this necessary infrastructure for introducing new systems, including the current systems.”

Teodoro said one of the key takeaways from the trip was the strengthened commitment to deepen cooperation in terms of joint military drills and modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“And so this is a major part of the takeaways from this trip — the enhanced cooperation, including assurance of support for our continuing modernization of the military, our armed forces, through the Philippine sectors, Security Sector Assistance Roadmap, and the Philippines Enhanced Resilience Act,” he said.

“And we're very thankful for the continued advocacy of the Trump administration for it in connection with the U.S. legislature under the leadership of President Marcos.”