US Secretary Rubio set for PH trip to boost Indo-Pacific alliance

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio (GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP)

MANILA, Philippines – United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planning to visit the Philippines next month to reaffirm the importance of the Philippines-US alliance in the Trump administration.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said there is no exact date for the visit as of yet but “probably by April” after the trip of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Manila next week.

“Again, the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is one that is extremely important for both our countries,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Tuesday.

“We’re at the forefront of the situation that we face in the in the Indo-Pacific region and our alliance— I would assume that Secretary Rubio’s mission in the Indo-Pacific region is also similar to what Secretary Hegseth is going to do,” he added.

After these high-level visits, Romualdez said the two governments would already likely be able to firm up the “exact timing” of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s visit to the US.

Hegseth is embarking on a landmark trip to Manila on March 28, marking the first time that a Pentagon chief has included a stop in the country during his first visit to the region.

Romualdez said his visit comes at an opportune time just as Manila is also looking to further “bring forward” the new relationship that it has with the Trump administration.

The envoy said Hegseth and his Filipino counterpart Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. are expected to discuss “what it is that we will be needing for our armed forces to bring it up to speed on exactly what we want to achieve”.

“Basically, the United States under President Trump has always said that we have to have a strong deterrence to be able to avert any kind of conflict in the future,” he said.

“That is exactly what Secretary Hegseth is going to talk about with Secretary Teodoro and also perhaps a meeting with President Marcos the next day,” he added.