Biden to meet Philippine President at White House on May 1

File Picture

US President Joe Biden will meet his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House on May 1 to discuss deepening economic cooperation and the Indo-Pacific region, Manila and Washington said on Friday.

The treaty allies have enjoyed warmer ties since Marcos took office last June, reversing his predecessor's anti-US stance and overtures towards China, Washington's rival in the region.

The two leaders will also discuss further economic cooperation, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

"During the visit, President Biden will reaffirm the United States' ironclad commitment to the defence of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the longstanding US-Philippines alliance," the statement said.

In what will be his second trip to the United States in less than a year, the presidential palace said on Friday that Marcos will travel to Washington from April 30 to May 4 to meet Biden and key cabinet officials.

"It will substantively progress efforts to further deepen...political ties, to bring about lasting socio-economic partnerships, as well as to enhance defence and security cooperation," the palace said.

Marcos will seek closer partnership in agriculture, energy, climate change, digital transformation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, supply chains and infrastructure, it added.

The Philippines earlier this month identified four additional military bases that the US may access amid shared concerns about China's growing might.

China's ambassador to Manila last week accused the Philippines of "stoking the fire" of regional tensions by offering the expanded base access to the US.

More than 17,000 Philippine and US soldiers are currently conducting their largest-ever joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country, drawing criticism from China.

More from International

  • US prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione

    U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance division Brian Thompson in New York last year.

  • Nationwide power outage in Syria due to malfunctions

    Syria suffered a nationwide power outage on Tuesday night due to malfunctions at several points in the national grid, a spokesperson from the energy ministry told Reuters.

  • UN warns window to find Myanmar quake survivors closing

    Aid groups in Myanmar on Tuesday described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.

  • Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies

    The Trump administration has fired staff at U.S. health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, as it embarked on its plan to cut 10,000 health jobs, according to sources familiar with the situation and a health official.

  • Israel says it 'eliminated' Hezbollah operative in Beirut strike

    The Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah operative in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs early on Tuesday, while three other people were reported killed and seven injured, further testing a shaky four-month ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.