page_title: Foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration
section_title: Philippines
hierarchical_section_title: Foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration / Asia / Philippines
caption_attribution_description: English: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and US President Donald Trump share a light moment prior to the bilateral meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on November 13, 2017. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
context_page_description: The stated aims of the foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration include a focus on security, by fighting terrorists abroad and strengthening border defenses and immigration controls; an expansion of the U.S. military; an "America First" approach to trade; and diplomacy whereby "old enemies become friends". During his presidential inauguration speech, Trump said that during his presidency the U.S. would "not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow." He also stated that his administration would "seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world," and that he believed in the "right of all nations to put their own interests first."
  Trump supported a robust national defense during the 2016 election campaign and in his first budget proposal as president in March 2017, proposed a $54 billion increase in defense spending, to a total of $639 billion for fiscal year 2018. He said the increase would be needed to fight terrorism, improve troop readiness, and build new ships and planes, and would be paid for by deep cuts to other agencies, including a 28% cut from the US State Department budget.
context_section_description: U.S.-Philippines relations had taken a turn for the worse with the election of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2016. Duterte expressed strong hostility toward then-President Obama and threatened to sever the long-standing ties between the two countries due to the latter's criticism on the issue of human rights in Duterte's policy on the War on Drugs. On December 2, 2016, President-elect Trump accepted a congratulatory call from Duterte. A statement from the Trump team said the two leaders "noted the long history of friendship and cooperation between the two nations, and agreed that the two governments would continue to work together closely on matters of shared interest and concern". Duterte claimed afterward that Trump had praised Duterte's controversial "war on drugs" which has killed thousands of people without trial, and that Trump said the Philippines are "doing it as a sovereign nation, the right way."
caption: Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte with President Trump in Manila, November 13, 2017
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and US President Donald Trump share a light moment prior to the bilateral meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on November 13, 2017. ROBINSON NI\u00d1AL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2017:11:13 14:16:08", "Image ExifOffset": "2470", "Image XPTitle": "[80, 0, 114, 0, 101, 0, 115, 0, 105, 0, 100, 0, 101, 0, 110, 0, 116, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image XPSubject": "[80, 0, 114, 0, 101, 0, 115, 0, 105, 0, 100, 0, 101, 0, 110, 0, 116, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}