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1 1 (March 4, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govetrp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congres Informinq ib Kanal Rese rch Servic le t~ved bae ii .1914 Updated March 4, 2026 The Philippines Overview and Recent Developrnents The United States and the Republic of the Philippines maintain a relationship that includes a bilateral security alliance, extensive military cooperation, close people-to- people ties, and many shared strategic and economic interests. The United States administered the Philippines as a colonial territory (1898-1946) after 300 years of Spanish rule. Over 4 million people in the United States identify as Filipino alone or in combination, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates its only office outside of the United States in Manila, serving thousands of veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. The United States is the Philippines' third-largest trading partner, after China and Japan, and its largest export market. The Philippines has long played an important role in U.S. Asia policy as a security and counterterrorism partner. The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) commits the two countries to help defend each other against external armed attack. Tensions between the Philippines and the People's Republic of China (PRC or China) over maritime claims in the South China Sea are a potential flashpoint. Trump Administration officials have reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the Philippines, including by supporting the Philippines' military modernization, deploying advanced missile systems in combined exercises, and initiating a new bilateral task force to deter PRC coercion in the South China Sea. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026 (P.L. 119-60), Congress authorized up to $2.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and up to $1 billion in loans for military sales for the Philippines. In July 2025, Philippine President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. visited the United States, meeting with President Donald Trump and the U.S. secretaries of defense and state. In addition to reaffirming the importance of the alliance, the two sides announced that the United States would provide over $60 million in new foreign assistance to support energy, maritime, and economic growth programs. In September 2025, the United States announced $250 million in foreign assistance to the Philippines to improve health systems, disease detection and response, and maternal and child health services. Congress has provided oversight, policy direction, and funding to shape U.S. ties with the Philippines, which is located in the first island chain in the Pacific and could play a key role in a regional conflict. Members also have sought to shape U.S. policy on human rights and counter- terrorism in the Philippines, as well as security cooperation related to the South China Sea and other contingencies. Philppines Politics In 2022, Filipinos elected Marcos Jr. as president and Sara Duterte-Carpio as vice president. Marcos's father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, including through martial law from 1972 until he was ousted by the 1986 People Power Revolution. Sara Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte (in office 2016-2022). The Philippine constitution limits both the president and vice president, who are elected on separate tickets, to one six-year term. The Philippines held midterm elections in May 2025, in which Marcos-aligned candidates fared poorly compared to pre-election polling. Prior to the election, in March 2025, Rodrigo Duterte was extradited to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity for his anti-drug war; he was formally charged in September. The U.S.-Ph-ppnes A iance The MDT undergirds security cooperation between the two countries, and the Philippines generally has been a staunch supporter of an active U.S. presence in the region. In 1992-in the face of vocal Philippine opposition to U.S. military bases and during a period of relative peace and stability following the fall of the Soviet Union-the U.S. military withdrew from the two bases it had operated since the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). In 1998, the two countries signed a Visiting Forces Agreement. In 2014, with increasing tensions in the South China Sea, the U.S. and Philippine governments signed an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), allowing the rotational presence of U.S. military forces, aircraft, and ships at five locations in the Philippines; in February 2023, the two countries agreed to increase the number of Philippine military bases open to U.S. forces to nine. Figure I. The Philippines at a Glance In May 2023, the two allies established new Bilateral Defense Guidelines, which aim to help modernize Philippine defense capabilities, deepen interoperability, enhance bilateral planning and information-sharing, and combat transnational and nonconventional threats. The guidelines appear to reinforce treaty obligations, stating that