菲律宾驻美大使何塞·曼努埃尔·罗穆阿尔德兹表示，由民主党主导的美国国会很可能会继续支持特朗普政府为菲律宾军事现代化提供资助。
A Democrat-led US Congress will likely continue to support the Trump administration’s help funding the Philippines’ military upgrade, according to Manila’s envoy to Washington.
“我们在国会拥有强有力的两党支持，”罗穆阿尔德兹在电话采访中说。“我相信我们过去推进的所有工作都将按原计划继续。”近年来，在美国共和党和民主党总统的执政下，美菲防务接触均有所升级，因为华盛顿寻求在该地区遏制中国，而马尼拉则主张其在南海的主权主张。
“We have strong bilateral support in Congress,” Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said in a phone interview. “I am confident that all of those that we have worked on the past will continue as is.”US defense engagements with the Philippines have ramped up in recent years over both Republican and Democratic presidencies, as Washington seeks to counter China in the region while Manila asserts its claims in the South China Sea.
美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯上周在访菲出席地区峰会期间，宣布将增加资金以实现这东南亚国家武装部队的现代化。
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced greater funding to modernize the Southeast Asian nation’s armed forces last week when he visited the Philippines for a regional summit.
不过，本周中期选举后，美国国会权力倾向民主党，这有可能限制唐纳德·特朗普总统的外交政策决策。
The power shift in the US Congress in favor of Democrats after this week’s midterm elections however risks reining in President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions.
但罗穆阿尔德兹表示，他乐观认为华盛顿对其与菲律宾军事同盟的立场不会有重大变化。“目前，他们视菲律宾为其最强盟友之一，”他说。“我们在两党都有朋友。”据这位大使透露，特朗普预计将于本月晚些时候访问马尼拉出席东南亚国家联盟峰会时，重申美国对菲律宾的防务承诺。
Romualdez, however, said he’s optimistic that there will be no major changes in Washington’s stance toward its military alliance with the Philippines. “Right now, they see the Philippines as one of its strongest allies,” he said. “We have friends from both sides of the aisle.”Trump is also expected to reaffirm the US’ defense commitments to the Philippines when he visits Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit later this month, according to the ambassador.
不过，罗穆阿尔德兹表示，美菲双方不太可能在特朗普访问期间签署关于美国支持在菲建立人工智能中心的协议，因为双方仍在磋商细节。马尼拉也在致力于立法，以将该项目制度化。
An agreement on the US-backed AI hub in the Philippines is however unlikely to be signed during Trump’s visit, as both nations iron out details, Romualdez said. Manila is also working on legislation to institutionalize the project.
“大使表示：“‘硅基和平’上将一无所有”，指的是美国联合包括菲律宾在内的盟友保障人工智能供应链的倡议。“这正在解决中，但还没真正解决。”彭博经济学分析师亚当·法拉尔认为，随着特朗普进入其任期最后两年，菲律宾属于该地区“更少直接摩擦点”的国家之一。他在周五的一份报告中写道，该国与澳大利亚一样，“与华盛顿的经济争端有限，且根据政府的一些地区优先事项扩大了安全关系”。
“There will be nothing on the Pax Silica,” the ambassador said, referring to the US initiative to secure AI supply chain with allies including the Philippines. “That’s being sorted, but not really sorted yet.”Bloomberg Economics analyst Adam Farrar sees the Philippines as among those in the region with “ fewer immediate points of friction” as Trump heads into his final two years. The country, along with Australia, “have limited economic disputes with Washington and have expanded security ties in line with some of the administrations regional priorities,” he wrote in a note Friday.