Office of the Spokesperson
The United States and the Republic of the Philippines held the ninth Bilateral Strategic Dialogue November 15-16 in Washington, D.C. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner met with counterparts from the Government of the Philippines, including Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Department of National Defense Undersecretary Cardozo M. Luna. Throughout the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security, and economic prosperity in the Asia Pacific region.
Both countries consulted extensively on joint efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, uphold the rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea, foster respect for human rights, and strengthen interoperability of the U.S. and Philippine armed forces. Additionally, the two parties discussed concrete measures to deepen the extensive economic relationship between our two countries by cooperating in areas such as science and technology, fisheries, and infrastructure, among others.
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