President Donald Trump was set to host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday at the White House, as the two countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region. Marcos, who met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, was set to become the first Southeast Asian leader to hold talks with Trump in his second term.

Marcos’s three-day visit comes amid China’s increasingly aggression in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have clashed over the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal.  Consecutive US governments have sought to shift military and economic focus to the Asia-Pacific in a bid to counter China. But, Trump, like others before him, has been distracted by efforts to broker peace in a range of conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza.

Tariffs will also be on the agenda over Trump’s threats to impose 20 per cent tariffs on Filipino goods on August 1 unless the two sides can strike a deal. “I intend to convey to President Trump that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a deal to ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the US and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of,” Marcos said.