President Donald Trump will host his Philippine counterpart in the White House `very soon` to discuss how the longtime treaty allies can further deepen their security and economic engagements, the Philippine ambassador to the US said Friday.

No date has been specified for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.`s meeting with Trump in Washington but Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said that it would happen `very soon` this month. The allies have boosted mutual defense engagements, including large-scale combat exercises in the Philippines, to strengthen deterrence against China`s increasingly aggressive actions in the region.

Among the proposed topics for discussion is strengthening `peace through deterrence,` Romualdez told The Associated Press by telephone, echoing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth `s remarks about the US military`s plan to ratchet up deterrence against China`s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea by intensifying military and defense engagements with the Philippines and allied nations in the region.