Protesters confronted Vice President Kamala Harris at her home Tuesday morning over her meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as the Biden administration seeks to strengthen ties to the southeast Asian country.
Harris welcomed Marcos to her residence as part of his four-day trip to the United States. The visit is meant to send a signal to China that Washington and Manila will continue forging stronger ties amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Relations between the two countries stalled for years under the rule of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who aligned closer to China.
However, Harris’ meeting was met with criticism from some anti-Marcos advocates. A small group of protesters rallied outside her residence to voice disdain for U.S. military aid sent to the Philippines, chanting, “The Philippines is not for sale.”
“We are here to let Vice President Kamala Harris know…the Filipino people do not want the Philippines to be up for sale,” one protester shouted.
Another protester could be heard saying, “We want no more military aid to the Philippines. We want to end all human rights abuses and to defend Filipino sovereignty”
The Biden administration has provided the Philippines with aid to help bolster its defense capabilities, providing it with $100 million in October 2022. Since 2015, the U.S. has given the Philippines more than $1 billion worth of military equipment including planes and armored vehicles, according to Reuters.
The United States and the Philippines also conducted their largest military drills last week in waters facing the South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have overlapping territorial claims.
A video of the protest outside Harris’ home was posted to Twitter by Telegraph editor Rozina Sabur.
Vice President Harris meets President Marcos Jr of the Philippines at the VP’s residence this morning pic.twitter.com/PbGusQ8KQV
— Rozina Sabur (@RozinaSabur) May 2, 2023
In remarks before their meeting, Harris praised Marcos for the strengthening alliance between the U.S. and the Philippines.
“I know the president and you had a very meaningful and good meeting yesterday, and I’m looking forward to our time together,” Harris said. “And I want to thank you because the strength of the alliance between the United States and the Philippines is probably stronger than ever.”
A White House official told Newsweek that Harris discussed the importance of respecting human and labor rights during the meeting with Marcos. She also met with human rights activists during a prior visit to Manila, where she discussed labor rights, media freedom and combatting trafficking.
“As the Vice President has made clear, we remain committed to our longstanding alliance, which has supported international rules and norms in the region for more than 70 years, and which has delivered prosperity and security for the American and Filipino people,” the official wrote.
On Monday, Marcos met with President Joe Biden at the White House, where he discussed the U.S.’s commitment to the Philippines’ security, according to the Associated Press. The relationship between the two countries prior to Marcos’ election last year was more rocky, as his predecessor was more critical of the United States.
“The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines’ military modernization,” Biden said.
Their meeting comes amid China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, including heightened tensions with the Philippines. In February, the Philippines said that China deployed a high-power laser against a Coast Guard patrol boat, temporarily blinding its crew. China has denied the allegation.
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Wow, after this many years she actually has a meeting? Did she bore them with VennDiagram discussions or try to talk to them in word salad as well or did she try the offesive child like patronizing cackling she usually does. Such a disgusting vile “C” this woman is!
Those protesters are too young and too ignorant to know the history between the US and the Philippines! They don’t understand or want to that their BS cries for social ;justice don’t mean a damn thing now because the world stage is much larger than they are! We were allies in WWII and for many decades afterwards. The people of the Philippines rescued and saved many American lives as we tried to do the same. We had major military bases there to maintain stability in that region against aggressors like China and NK! And we are very much mandated now to rebuild and reestablish a strong military presence there and rebuild relationships! But those protesters are too little and too narrow minded to understand that!