Following is the text of a joint statement by the United States of America and the Republic of the Philippines issued on January 27, 2012, in Washington, DC.
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The United States and the Republic of the Philippines held the second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue on January 26-27, 2012, in Washington, DC. In the spirit of the November 2011 Manila Declaration, the dialogue provided an opportunity to consult and exchange views on a broad range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, reflecting our common values and interests. The dialogue was co-chaired by Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
Peter Lavoy for the United States and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Erlinda Basilio and Undersecretary of National Defense Pio Lorenzo Batino for the Republic of the Philippines. Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan chaired the working group on Rule of Law and Law Enforcement.
During the dialogue, the United States and the Philippines reaffirmed our commitment to fulfill the vision of the Manila Declaration through an invigorated and expanded alliance capable of addressing 21st century challenges. We reinforced the significance of our Mutual Defense Treaty as the basis for the alliance and the treaty’s continued relevance to the peace, security, and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific. We committed to further enhance cooperation, including in security, defense, commerce, law enforcement, human rights, and disaster relief. We agreed to deepen and broaden our maritime security cooperation. We emphasized the importance of deepening bilateral trade and investment ties to increase prosperity for the people in both countries. We reviewed our ongoing collaboration in the Partnership for Growth and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. We recognized the efforts being taken by the Philippine government in resolving human rights cases and discussed positive developments in the prosecution of abuses. We emphasized a mutual commitment to these efforts.
We look forward to continuing our high-level consultation at a joint ministerial meeting between Secretary of State Rodham Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario, and Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin this March. The two sides also highlighted upcoming opportunities for further high-level engagement, including a visit by Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro to the Philippines in February and a visit to the Philippines by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis in late February to discuss economic issues and the interest of the Philippines in potentially joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.