US Vice President Kamala Harris – the Democratic candidate for president – visited Palawan in 2022
The game changed when Kamala Harris, the incumbent vice president of the United States, took Joe Biden’s place as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in elections this November. What had been a toss-up between two white men became a race between a privileged autocrat and someone who could become the US’ first woman president, who is also Black and of South Asian heritage.
Beyond the symbolic dimension, the US presidential election has real ramifications for Filipinos. The Philippines still largely counts on its treaty alliance with the US as a deterrent to China’s territorial advances in the West Philippine Sea. Donald Trump, the former president and convicted felon, heralds a US-first, US-centric regime. Harris, being a democrat, is expected to continue the rapprochement between Washington and Manila that we’ve seen under Biden.
In short, whoever wins the presidency may spell marked differences in how US influence plays out in the Asia Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea, which includes what Filipinos call the West Philippine Sea.
Interestingly enough – Do you remember? – Harris visited the Philippines, particularly Palawan, in November 2022, with an eye to communicate US concern for the fate of the West Philippine Sea.
Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug tells us what it means that Kamala was here. – Rappler.com
