'I don't mind' if Philippines' Marcos 'gets along’ with China: Trump

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he “won’t mind” if the Philippines and China “get along” amid ongoing tensions between the two Asian neighbors over the disputed South China Sea.

“I don’t mind if he (President Ferdinand Marcos) gets along with China, because we’re getting along with China very well,” Trump said as he hosted Marcos at the White House on Tuesday.

The meeting was part of Marcos’ three-day official visit to the US, during which the two countries also finalized a trade agreement. As part of the deal, Trump imposed a 19% tariff on imports from the Southeast Asian nation.

“There is no need to balance our relationship between the United States and China. Our foreign policy is an independent one,” Marcos told reporters, sitting next to Trump, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications office of the Philippines.

Addressing Marcos, Trump said: “I think he has to do what’s right for his country. I’ve always said, you know, make the Philippines great again. Do whatever you need to do.”

The Philippines, a long-standing military ally of the US in the Asia-Pacific region, hosts American soldiers and provides access to its military bases. The two countries have maintained a mutual defense treaty since 1951.

In response to the growing US-Philippines cooperation, Beijing has urged both countries to ensure their partnership does not target or harm any third party, amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.

Chinese and Philippine vessels have been involved in a series of maritime confrontations in the contested, mineral-rich waters, where both nations assert overlapping territorial claims.