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President Joe Biden will host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for talks at the White House next month as the United States seeks to continue closer relations with the Pacific nation.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the two leaders’ meeting on May 1 is expected to focus on deepening economic cooperation, climate change, human rights, efforts to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region and more.
The visit comes after the Philippines announced earlier this year that it would allow US forces to expand their presence in the Southeast Asian nation. It was one of a series of moves by the administration aimed at strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan.
Biden and Marcos had their first face-to-face meeting in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Marcos, the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, took office last June.
