The speakers, US Ambassador Sung Kim (middle), Major General Restituto Padilla, AFP, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, OJ5, Armed Forces of the Philippines (left) and Dr. Renato De Castro, Professor at the International Studies Department of De La Salle University (right) candidly answer the questions raised during the open forum.

 

The Foreign Service Institute, in partnership with the Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces, organized the Mangrove Forum “The Philippines – United States Alliance at 67: Quo Vadis?” on 20 November 2018 at the Carlos P. Romulo Library, Department of Foreign Affairs.

 

This Mangrove Forum was held in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the signing of the 1951 Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).  It sought to revisit the alliance, reexamine ways to deepen collaboration on issues of mutual interest, and situate the alliance in the context of US’s vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

 

The main speaker was His Excellency Ambassador Sung Kim, the United States Ambassador to the Philippines (see full text of his remarks). Major General Restituto Padilla, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, OJ5, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Dr. Renato De Castro, Professor at the International Studies Department of De La Salle University, Manila served as discussants.

 

The forum was attended by officials and staff of DFA, FSI, and the PCVF, representatives from government agencies, members of the diplomatic corps and the academe, and the delegates of the Filipino Young Leaders Program 2018.

 

FSI’s Officer-In-Charge Ms. Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat, and Office of the American Affairs’ Executive Director Jaime Ramon Ascalon pose with Ambassador Sung Kim, Major General Restituto Padilla, and Dr. Renato De Castro during the awarding of certificates of appreciation.