Defense pacts top Marcos-Biden meet

DEFENSE and security will be on top of the agenda when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with United States President Joe Biden in Washington next week. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Teresita Daza said “discussions on security and defense are a given” since the two countries are long-standing military allies. The two leaders are expected to discuss the decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) since the Philippines and US have major interests in the South China Sea. Manila has been locked in a territorial dispute with Beijing, while Washington has been calling out…