 Good morning. My name is Hank Hendrickson. I'm the Executive Director of the U.S.-Philippine Society. I'm here at USIP today to talk about the Philippines and U.S.-Philippines relations. From the U.S.-Philippines society point of view, we've had opportunities to meet with President Marcos in the Philippines. We met with him and his team before this inauguration last year. And then again in January and February of this year, as well as during his visit to Washington in May. So we've gotten to know him. He's been very consistent in his messaging. He's said that he can't envision a future relationship with the United States that's not really important for the Philippines. So he's put a much higher priority on relations with the United States. And it's a very broad agenda that he has before him in terms of areas that he sees as important in terms of cooperation with the United States. And it's not just dealing with security challenges in the South China Sea. It's the recovery after COVID. It's getting the economy to transform in ways that can provide more jobs for Filipinos and looking at opportunities in terms of strategic minerals, energy for the country that needs it. It's 110 million people and it's vulnerable so they want to look at clean energy alternatives. And they're looking at the U.S. to be a partner in tackling some of the problems that the Philippines faces in terms of building resilience and disaster response. And it's as well as some of these transnational issues of drugs and terrorism and so on. So it's a remarkably full agenda. And I think this administration in the Philippines and the administration here in Washington understand that engagement with the Philippines can be a win-win. In the southern Philippines there's been a long-standing conflict that's taken place between a Muslim community base and the Filipinos who have come into that area. The government has had a hand in trying to deal with conflict there in various ways, including through military actions over the years. But on the political side there's been progress in establishing autonomy within the Philippine state based in Muslim majority areas of Mindanao. And there's been success in forming an autonomous government that includes the two largest formerly rebel groups, armed groups, who are now working with the government and running their autonomous region in the Bansamora area of Mindanao. What I think is hopeful is that there's international attention and recognition of the successes there. And what we're trying to do is to support groups that are there to help. My wish list, if we were able to get things done through wishing them that they would happen in Washington, would be for progress in the area of trade. Philippines, like other countries in the Asia Pacific region, are going to look for trade arrangements and we'd like to see the United States do more in terms of setting the rules for trade with the Philippines and the region in general and not leave the field open to others. But it would be also useful for the United States early in dealing, early on in this new six-year term of President Marcos, to address areas that are of real domestic concern over there in the Philippines, which is economic development and jobs for people, feeding people. So getting people employed, getting jobs, and that would show that the United States is tuned in to the real domestic needs of that country in a way that can be helpful to them and that they would then see value in strengthening the overall relationship in ways that they've done so far in this first year of the administration.