Kerry On U.S. - Philippines Relations

“This is not a new relationship,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said recently in remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Manila about the U.S.-Philippines relationship.

Kerry On U.S. - Philippines Relations

For more than 100 years, the United States and the Philippines have “stood shoulder-to-shoulder, particularly . . . during . . . World War II . . . Then we stood shoulder-to-shoulder [recently] in the wake of one of the world’s worst natural disasters,” Secretary Kerry said. “And we stand today, two vibrant democracies that are committed to each other’s strength and prosperity.”

“In the first half of [2013], the economy of the Philippines was among the fastest-growing economies in the world. The Philippines proves the kind of transformation that is possible when free markets and free people and a free marketplace of ideas, combined together to be able to unleash the creative entrepreneurial spirit of individual human beings,” Secretary Kerry said.

“Now is a critical moment for the Philippines and the next chapter of our history together,” Secretary Kerry continued. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership . . . has [the] ability . . . to raise standards . . . open up new opportunities, and put 40 percent of the GDP of the world into one economic group . . . and obviously create millions of jobs.”

“The Philippines and the United States have an opportunity to forge a stronger foundation for economic growth and development,” Secretary Kerry said in conclusion. “We are committed to working with the Government of the Philippines . . . [in] making travel and exchange between our two countries much more efficient and . . . easier. [We aim] to expand exchange between the United States and the Philippines, and [bring] greater prosperity [to] our countries.”