NEW YORK: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he does not see the Philippines without the United States as a partner, declaring that the ties between the two nations are “beyond politics.”

Marcos renewed his commitment to further boost the Philippines’ relations with the US when he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday (Tuesday in Manila).

“It is very clear to me in my vision for the way that the country will move forward that I cannot see the Philippines in the future without having the United States as a partner,” he said.

“I cannot overstate the role the United States has played in the Philippines in every aspect of our lives. And so this is just a continuing evolution, and I believe in strengthening that relationship between the United States and the Philippines,” he added.

The President said that the Philippines and the US “have strong and enduring ties in trade and commerce, among many other areas of cooperation.”

The US is the Philippines’ third largest trading partner and second major source of foreign direct investments in 2021.

“Many of the drivers of our early economy were actually American corporations. Many of the strongest corporate benefactors really to government and to the rest of society in the Philippines were coming from the United States,” Marcos said. “This has evolved as time has gone on, but the strength of that relationship continues. And we envision a further strengthening of those relationships,” he added.

Marcos said strengthening the Philippines-US alliance and partnerships is “extremely necessary” amid growing economic and geopolitical crises worldwide.

“I believe that the political, economic, diplomatic relations that we make, the partnerships that we forged and that we strengthen now are going to be extremely necessary for the simple reason that they provide stability in this highly unstable economic, political, geopolitical, diplomatic environment. This is something that is central to our thinking when it comes to the economic planning for the Philippines,” he said.

“When we are in crisis, we look to the United States. We look to the relationship that has been forged over the many years, and I have to say the reason that we have done that is that for the most part we can say that the United States has not failed us,” he added.

The President’s visit to the US comes amid increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly between China and the US, as both countries jostle for global power.

Marcos has repeatedly expressed his intent to further strengthen the Philippines’ bilateral ties with the US, its traditional ally, during his term as president.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte shook up the Philippine-US ties with his pivot to China and Russia as he fired verbal assaults against the US throughout his term.

Marcos earlier said he hopes to hold bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden at the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly where he is set to deliver a speech Tuesday afternoon.