Marcos: US will surely come to aid PH should it face security challenges

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sits down in an exclusive interview with Firstpost’s Managing Editor Palki Sharma on Aug. 8, 2025. Screenshot from Firstpost.

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed confidence that the country’s longtime ally, the United States, will defend the Philippines should it encounter security challenges, particularly those involving the South China Sea.

He also conceded that the Philippines may inevitably be dragged into an “all-out war” with China should the Asian superpower proceed to invade Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province.

Speaking to Indian news media “Firstpost” on Wednesday, Marcos was asked if he was convinced that the US, under the new administration of President Donald Trump, would come to the Philippines’ defense should it face a security threat in the region.

“I am, because the assurance is that we have been receiving in those terms from the new [US] administration before I went there, and when I went there have been very, very strong,” Marcos replied.

READ: US reaffirms defense aid for PH, support in West Philippine Sea

Marcos had a three-day working visit in the US from July 20 to 22, where he met Trump and other senior defense officials.

The President cited the Trump administration’s “ironclad commitment” to the Philippines amid the escalating and provocative actions of China in the South China Sea.

“And I sincerely believe that remains constant. And I’m not surprised because we really have had a very, very long history together with the US,” he said.

Manila and Washington have an enduring alliance at almost 80 years old and is based on deep historical and cultural ties.

The Philippines gained its independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, and diplomatic relations were formally established the same day.

The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty provides a strong foundation for the two countries’ robust security partnership.

Both the previous and current US administrations had warned China not to engage in dangerous and unlawful activity toward the Philippines, saying that any attack on its ally would trigger Washington’s mutual defense treaty with Manila.

In July, the Philippines renewed its call to China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that nullified Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, saying all countries, “regardless of size, might, or capacity, must meet their duties and obligations” under international law.

China, however, does not recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claim to up to 90 percent of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

The neighboring Taiwan, which is also a US ally, is also seen as a potential flashpoint of armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. Security experts warned that China would invade the self-ruled Taiwan within the decade.

“To be very practical about it, if there is a confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical geographic location,” Marcos said.

“And so if you, if you think about it, if there is an all-out war, then we will be drawn into it,” he added.

Should conflict escalate further in Taiwan, the Philippines’ priority would be to protect and bring home the more than 150,000 overseas Filipino workers.

“And that would immediately be a humanitarian problem because we will have to get involved because we will have to go in there or find a way to go in there and to find and to bring our people home,” Marcos said.

“We would immediately mobilize everything that we could to bring our people out of the conflict,” he added.

While the Philippines observes the “One China Policy” and the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) principle of non-interference in approaching regional issues, the country has been preparing for “contingency measures” to ensure the safety of Filipinos in Taiwan amid the China-Taiwan tensions.

US troops have been given access to nine Philippine military bases where they could store military materiel and aid supplies, and preposition troops to quickly respond to crises and natural disasters under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) between Manila and Washington.

Three of those bases are located in Cagayan Valley, which is close to Taiwan.

In 2023, the Department of National Defense maintained that the implementation of Edca was not directed against any country, particularly China.

But instead it was “in line with our efforts to modernize our alliance and enable collective defense and peace, promote our national interest, protect our national sovereignty, ensure the livelihood and welfare of our fisherfolk and communities, and enhance our capability to respond to emergencies and disasters, as well as provide humanitarian assistance.” /jpv