MANILA – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will visit the Philippines for the upcoming Philippines – U.S. Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue, also called 2 + 2 Dialogue, set to happen on July 30, 2024.
In a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), it confirmed Blinken and Austin will be meeting their counterparts in Manila to further strengthen and enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
According to the statement, DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo and Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. will host the two officials, and that the four Secretaries are expected to discuss how to further enhance the two countries’ commitment to the PH-U.S. alliance.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III greets Secretary of National Defense of Philippines Gilbert Teodoro at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command headquarters, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, May 2, 2024. (DoD Photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders)
“During this year’s 2+2 Dialogue, the four Secretaries are expected to discuss how to further enhance our two countries’ commitment to the PH - U.S. alliance while enabling a common program in support of the rules-based international order, enhanced economic ties, broad-based prosperity, and solutions to evolving regional and global security challenges,” the statement read.
The third iteration of the 2 + 2 dialogue was held in Washington, D.C. last April 2023 and concluded with a joint statement that “reaffirmed full support for international law, modernizing shared defense capabilities of the alliance, advancing economic and environmental security, and cultivating the vibrant and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries,” the DFA stated.
During their visit to Manila, the DFA also mentioned that Secretaries Blinken and Austin are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
