Cayetano Thanks McCain for Championing US Engagement in PH, ASPAC
Foreign Affairs Secretary and Sen. John McCain discuss relations between the Philippines and the United States during a meeting on Capitol Hill on Monday. With the Secretary are Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Luis Montales, Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Andrelita Austria and Philippine Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Patrick Chuasoto.
27 September 2017 — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano on Monday paid tribute to Sen. John McCain for championing the continuing security engagement of the United States in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific.
"Senator McCain is not just a good friend and champion of the Philippines, his family also has true affinity and history with the Philippines," Secretary Cayetano said after calling on the Republican legislator in Washington DC on Monday.
"We thank him for taking time off his busy schedule to discuss how we could further strengthen our bilateral relations," Secretary Cayetano said
The Secretary said Senator McCain, chair of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, has been instrumental in the continued American engagement in the Asia-Pacific and in the growth of defense cooperation between the Philippines and the US.
"Our meeting with Senator McCain was a good opportunity to update him on what we have been doing and what more our two countries can do together to address non-traditional security concerns, such as drug trafficking and violent extremism,” Secretary Cayetano said.
During the meeting, the Secretary emphasized to the Arizona solon the Philippine Government’s steadfast commitment to uphold human rights while at the same time fighting the scourge of illegal drugs and violent extremism.
The Secretary also expressed appreciation for US humanitarian assistance and support for rehabilitation projects in Marawi City, which has been the center of fighting between the Philippine armed forces and Islamic State-inspired groups since May.
The Secretary invited Senator McCain to again visit the Philippines after the solon shared his family's connection to the country. Senator McCain's grandfather served in the Philippines during the American occupation and the Second World War while his father, also a Navy admiral who served in the Philippines, was a recipient of the Philippine Legion of Honor.
Senator McCain told the Secretary he himself spent time in Subic and as a young navy aviator serving in Vietnam and was processed at Clark Air Base upon his release from Vietnam as a prisoner of war.
The Senator last visited the Philippines in 2015 as part of a US congressional delegation.
The Secretary was accompanied during his call by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Luis Montales, Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Andrelita Austria and Philippine Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Patrick Chuasoto. END
United States Sen. John McCain shows Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano framed photographs at his Russell House office in Washington DC. The Secretary met with Senator McCain on Monday.