PM to highlight Philippines ties ahead of Trump meeting

Detailed summary

A potential meeting with US President Donald Trump hangs over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first full day in the Philippines ahead of the ASEAN summit.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will celebrate stronger ties with one of Australia’s closest partners in Asia, but another relationship with a long-standing ally is far from smooth sailing.

Mr Albanese will kick off his visit to the Philippines on Sunday with the signing of a defence pact representing a new high water mark in military cooperation between Canberra and Manila.

Meanwhile, the prime minister might be hoping to discuss rocketing fuel prices and tariff concerns when he and US President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

Sunday marks the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and the Philippines.

Mr Albanese will emphasise the strong people-to-people links between the two countries, as well as military ones.

Over 400,000 people living in Australia were born in the Philippines, making it the country’s fifth largest diaspora community.

The two nations also share security concerns about China’s growing militarisation of the South China Sea, particularly in an area determined by the UN in 2016 as Filipino territorial waters.

The importance of maritime security has been brought into stark relief since the US-Israeli war prompted Iran to weaponise the Strait of Hormuz and cripple global commerce.

Far away from the Middle Eastern waterway in Manila, the impacts are still being acutely felt.

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