By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio,Reporter
US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump on Thursday picked a new ambassador to the Philippines, as Washington and Manila navigate economic and security challenges in their decades-old alliance.
The White House nominated Lee Lipton, a businessman and interim representative at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, as the next top envoy to Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia, it said in a statement posted on its website.
Mr. Lipton’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. If approved, he will succeed MaryKay L. Carlson, who has served as US ambassador to the Philippines since 2022.
He oversees operations aimed at advancing American interests in the western hemisphere while leading efforts to address a “range of regional challenges,” including countering Chinese influence in the Americas, according to a State Department biography.
“His appointment signals the trajectory Washington wishes to pursue in further deepening its ties with Manila,” Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a diplomacy instructor at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“This signals the potential role the Philippines may be asked to play to ascertain that the US will continue to wield strategic influence within the region,” he added.
The US is the Philippines’ closest ally, with bilateral ties anchored on a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty that commits both nations to support each other in the event of an armed attack in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.
Manila hosts joint military sites with Washington across strategic locations, including bases near regional flashpoints like Taiwan.
The treaty allies have recently faced mounting challenges from China’s growing assertiveness in the region, where Beijing’s military maneuvers and posturing have fueled regional tensions in a vital waterway that handles trillions of dollars in annual seaborne trade.
“The main challenges Mr. Lipton would have to face and address include the ever-growing influence of China across Southeast Asia and its potential implications on US primacy,” Mr. Cortez said. “The region today is fragmented in its alliances, with some nations leaning more towards Beijing’s sphere.”
His appointment and experience in countering Chinese influence signal Washington’s intent to maintain its role as an “international police power” in the region, he added.
But Mr. Lipton’s nomination comes amid global trade tensions, including a 19% US tariff on Philippine goods that took effect in August, posing a key challenge for the envoy, Mr. Cortez said.
“Given the economic repercussions of recent decisions by the Trump regime, the US must devise ways on how its economic and political interests may counterbalance the significance of China today,” he added.