WASHINGTON HAS warned Beijing against continued harassment in the South China Sea, saying an armed attack on Filipino armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
“The United States stands with the Philippines in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s continued infringement upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” the State Department said, adding, imagery and video recently published in the media is a stark reminder of PRC harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone.
“We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct. The United States continues to track and monitor these interactions closely. The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order,” it added.
Cooperation with Japan, Australia
U.S. President
Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also agreed to
establish “trilateral modes of cooperation” with Japan, against the backdrop of
China's aggressive military actions around Taiwan and other parts of the
Indo-Pacific.
As the United States steps up efforts to deter China from expanding its
influence in the region, the presidents agreed on new bilateral defense
guidelines aimed at improving the interoperability of their forces in the
domains of land, sea, airspace and cyberspace, following a meeting in
Washington, according to the White House.
Biden told
Marcos, who was recently in Washington, that the United States “remains
ironclad” in its commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the
South China Sea, where China has made sweeping territorial claims, and will
continue to support the modernization of the Southeast Asian country's
military.
The White House announced plans to transfer three C-130 transport planes
and additional patrol vessels to the Philippines to help it upgrade its maritime
and tactical airlift capabilities.
During the portion of the meeting that was open to the press, Marcos
said the Philippines is possibly facing “the most complicated geopolitical situation
in the world right now” due to new challenges.
Marcos said that “it is only natural” for Manila to seek to strengthen
the relationship with Washington, its sole security treaty partner, citing
continuing tensions in the South China Sea.
According to Philippine officials earlier this year, the idea of
security talks involving the U.S., Japanese and Philippine national security
advisers has been put on the table.
Among other points, a joint statement released after the summit in the
Oval Office said the two leaders “affirm the importance of maintaining peace
and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global
security and prosperity.”
It also said Biden and Marcos agreed that their countries will also seek
three-way cooperation with Australia. But the statement made no mention of
China and many agreements lacked specifics, with the Philippine government
apparently trying to prevent security issues from completely stealing the
spotlight in the summit.
There was also no joint press conference, even though Marcos is the
first Philippine president in over a decade to come to Washington. Before
holding talks with Biden, he made it clear that the Philippines does not want
to be dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and
China. “We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any
kind of military action," Marcos told journalists.
The
Philippines is situated near Taiwan and strategically important sea lanes. The
Biden administration views the alliance with Manila as indispensable to
boosting deterrence efforts against China, which claims Taiwan as part of its
territory to be brought under its control, by force if necessary. But Marcos'
office instead highlighted progress on economic cooperation, welcoming Biden's
plan to dispatch a trade and investment mission to the Philippines.
The Biden administration, which regards the United States as in
strategic competition with China, has been working more closely with its
allies, including Japan and South Korea, in recent months.
Marcos'
administration is continuing its pursuit of a different approach from former
leader Rodrigo Duterte, who repeatedly threatened to sever Manila's longtime
security alliance with Washington and sought closer ties with Beijing and
Moscow.
The latest meeting between Biden and Marcos, who previously met in New York
in September, was held after the two allies on Friday wrapped up their
largest-ever annual military exercises in the Philippines and its nearby
waters.
Last month, the United States and the Philippines held the first meeting
of their defense and foreign secretaries since 2016. In February, Marcos
granted the U.S. access to four more military bases, increasing the number that
American soldiers can use to nine. (Mindanao Examiner, Kyodo News)
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