He added that his “top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States”.
The agenda was hinted at on July 10, when US Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said potential deals included private sector investment in the Luzon Economic Corridor, an agreement on “the Philippines’ wealth in critical minerals” and “trilateral cooperation in the Philippines on cybersecurity, energy [including nuclear energy] and investments in reliable and secure telecommunications networks”.
The Philippines could end up granting the US more access to military facilities under their Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), as well as offering favourable terms on mining concessions, potentially including rare earth minerals, analysts told This Week in Asia.
