By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Joseph “Joe” Biden is the presumptive United States president to succeed Donald Trump. Turning 78 on November 20, the former vice president of Barrack Obama, barring any impediment, will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021 as the oldest American president in history.
What’s in store for the Philippines under a Biden-led Washington, D.C.?
Setting that aside, many local politicians believe the history between the two countries runs so deep that remaining allies – whoever sits as president at opposite ends – is a foregone conclusion.
Pro-administration congressman, Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay, could be the most optimistic man in government about Biden’s victory. He sees US foreign policy to return to multilateralism, which bodes well for the Philippines in multiple fronts such as trade, environment, and defense and security.
Although human rights in the Philippines may be a bane in the hearts of Democrats, Biden is known to be a centrist, which means he is not likely to be “an interventionist as other left-leaning Democrats in terms of foreign policy”, a noted political analyst says.
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Speaking of elections, there’s another one coming up tomorrow (Nov. 11) to fill vacant slots in the International Court of Justice next year. The ICJ is also known as the World Court, being the highest United Nations court for inter-state disputes.
I am shocked that despite the Philippines’ nomination of a Japanese judge to the ICJ last June, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has publicly – and I mean via Twitter – ordered Manila’s mission to the UN to vote for the Chinese candidate to the ICJ.
Last March, the Philippines also snubbed the ASEAN candidate – a Singaporean – to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) by voting for the Chinese nominee to be the UN copyrights chief.
There’s a pattern here. What gives?
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