Marcos: Open lines with US boost Philippines' 'agile' response to sea row

 MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday told top United States officials that the Philippines' regular communications with the US powers the country's "agile" response to incidents in the West Philippine Sea. 

During Marcos' meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Malacañang, the president praised the the "very open" communication lines between the Philippines and the US.

"I am always very happy that these communication lines are very open so that all the things we are doing together in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context of the situation here in the West Philippine Sea and the Indo-Pacific are continuously examined and reexamined," Marcos said.

"So we are agile in terms of our responses," the president added.

Washington's top diplomat and defense chief are in Manila as part of a 10-day tour across six countries in Asia. The visits are meant to signal Washington's continued support for countries it considers strategic allies and partners ahead of the brewing showdown between US vice president Kamala Harris and former US president Donald Trump in the November US elections. 

Marcos told the US officials he was "a bit surprised" to see them "considering how interesting your political situation has become." 

In turn, Blinken reaffirmed the Philippines' and the US' ties and said today was "genuinely historic" as it is the first time that Manila will be hosting the two countries' 2+2 joint ministerial meeting. 

Blinken said during their courtesy call at Malacañang that the the "steady drumbeat of very high-level engagements" between the Philippines and the United States cover both security and economic affairs.  

"It’s been a great three-and-a-half years and we look forward to another three-and-a-half, another four in building, strengthening this relationship,” Austin said.

Both officials also reaffirmed US support for the Philippines in "defending its sovereign rights," according to a US Department of Defense readout of the meeting.

"The two officials discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly –