Marcos Seeks Meeting With Trump on Immigration, Defense

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss defense and trade ties as well as the fate of thousands of Filipinos at risk of deportation.

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“I will meet with President Trump because I should, because there’s much that we need to discuss between the US and the Philippines in terms of trade, in terms of defense and security, and now, the new policy on immigration,” Marcos told reporters on Thursday.

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Marcos, who strengthened Manila’s ties with Washington during the administration of Joe Biden, has yet to secure an in-person meeting with Trump though they had a phone call in November after the US election.

Apart from getting defense commitments from Trump himself, another pressing issue for Marcos is finding a solution for undocumented Filipinos that make up the biggest number of illegal migrants from Asia. Some 350,000 unauthorized Filipino migrants resided in the US as of 2022, according to a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security.

“This is something that we have to work through and hopefully resolve,” Marcos said. “We’ll see how we can influence the policymaking in terms of immigration,” he added.

On the status of foreign funding from the US, Marcos said the Philippines is waiting for more clarity.

During his November call with Trump, Marcos sought to reaffirm ties and build on gains from the Biden administration. That assurance recently came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio who reiterated Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to the Philippines while criticizing China’s actions.

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The US Army last year deployed Typhon missile system in the Philippines, riling up Beijing which has continued to call for the weapon’s pullout.

Marcos on Thursday said Manila can return the weapon system to the US if China would cease hostilities in the South China Sea.

“Let’s make a deal with China: Stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water-cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us, and stop your aggressive and coercive behavior, and I’ll return the Typhon,” Marcos said.

Manila, under Marcos, has pushed backed against Beijing’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which were invalidated by an international arbitration ruling in 2016.

Philippine and Chinese vessels clashed on several occasions in the contested waters last year as Manila asserted its own claims.

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(Updates with additional comments from Marcos throughout.)

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