US defense officials meet with Marcos; PH hailed as 'model ally'

US defense officials meet with Marcos; PH hailed as 'model ally'

Philippine News Agency

By Darryl John Esguerra

August 10, 2026, 4:50 pm

MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday welcomed senior United States defense officials in Malacañang as Manila and Washington continued efforts to strengthen their longstanding defense partnership and promote a more credible regional deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

Marcos received U.S. Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby and Assistant Secretary of War for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs John Noh during a courtesy call at the Palace, as part of the President's diplomatic engagements with key Indo-Pacific partners.

In a forum organized by the Stratbase Group, Colby, on his first visit to Manila as the U.S. Undersecretary of War for Policy, described the Philippines as a "model ally" and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to its oldest treaty ally in Asia.

He said the U.S. was seeking to build stronger and more sustainable alliances under its approach of achieving "genuine peace through strength."

"We seek partnerships, not dependencies, and we understand that countries will engage widely just as we do," Colby said.

"We are putting our alliances on a sustainable, realistic, and durable footing for the long haul. When we ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defense, and to take responsibility for their own sovereign security, we are not signaling abandonment," he added.

Colby stressed that Washington wants stronger partners rather than countries dependent on U.S. protection.

"We are looking for partners, not protectorates. When our partners are strong, deterrence is strong. And that is exactly what we have here in Manila under the leadership of President Marcos, Secretary of National Defense [Gilbert] Teodoro, and other key leaders," he said.

The U.S. official's remarks come as the Philippines accelerates its military modernization and strengthens defense cooperation with treaty ally Washington and other security partners amid growing geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

The Philippines and the United States are bound by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), under which both sides commit to act to meet common dangers in the event of an armed attack on their armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific.

The two countries have also expanded operational defense cooperation through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which provides for increased rotational presence and access of U.S. forces to agreed Philippine military facilities, as well as through the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement.

The alliance has taken on added significance amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea, where the Philippines has continued to assert its maritime rights under international law and the 2016 arbitral award while reporting increasingly assertive actions by China.

Colby's Manila visit was part of a four-nation tour that also includes Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, aimed at reinforcing U.S. engagement and its commitment to durable peace in the Indo-Pacific. (With a report from Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)