Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Washington for the first time on Wednesday and vowed to further strengthen the defense alliance and other partnerships between the Philippines and the United States.

BILATERAL MEETING Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (left) and his counterpart, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right), greet each other at the US Department of State in Washington. Also in the photo are Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel ‘Babe’ Romualdez and Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Maria Lumen Isleta. PHOTO BY JEFF ANTIPORDA

Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez, in a statement on Thursday, said the meeting gave Cayetano an opportunity to discuss with Pompeo the “independent foreign policy” of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the Philippine position on issues regarding the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and the Korean Peninsula, as well as counter-terrorism.

“Secretary Cayetano and Secretary Pompeo had an open and cordial interaction at the State Department [on Wednesday] and we are optimistic this would reinforce the ties that bind the relations between our two countries and peoples,” Romualdez said in the statement.

According to the ambassador, Cayetano told his counterpart about Manila’s optimism on developments in the Korean Peninsula and those in the broader Asia-Pacific region generated by a recent meeting in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

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Romualdez said Cayetano delivered a personal letter from Duterte congratulating Trump for the successful summit with the North Korean leader in the Lion City earlier this month.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, who was also in the meeting between Cayetano and Pompeo, conveyed to the US official Manila’s appreciation of the assistance and cooperation extended by the United States in counter-terrorism and rehabilitation of Marawi City, among others.

The US has contributed about P1.4 billion or $26.4 million to the rebuilding of Marawi.

Romualdez said Pompeo expressed hope for another meeting between Duterte and Trump in a repeat of their meeting during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Manila last November.

Cayetano and Pompeo explored opportunities to enhance bilateral trade, heighten security cooperation and strengthen ties between Filipinos and Americans.

Esperon met separately with his US counterpart John Bolton and talked about regional security issues, including the disputed South China Sea.

The meeting was the first Bolton had with Filipino officials since his appointment as National Security Adviser by Trump in April.