Biden to meet Philippines’ Marcos at White House as China tensions grow

The leaders will discuss matters including economic cooperation, clean energy and respect for human rights during their May 1 meeting

The talks come a week after the largest-ever joint US-Philippines military drills in the South China Sea in the face of Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region

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US President Joe Biden with his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) in New York. File photo: Reuters

Published: 11:12am, 21 Apr 2023

President Joe Biden will welcome Philippines leader Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to the White House on May 1 in a sign of a warming bond between the two nations amid US tensions with China over Taiwan.

Biden will reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the defence of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the long-standing US-Philippines alliance,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The White House announcement comes a week after the largest-ever joint US-Philippines military exercises in the disputed South China Sea in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the region, particularly over Taiwan, the self-governing island it claims as its own.

Last week, the US Secretaries of Defence and State met with their Philippine counterparts in Washington in a high-level summit, days after the US gained greater military access in the Philippines.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin warned of “a troubling increase in coercion and dangerous operational behaviour” in the South China Sea, an apparent reference to a three-day Chinese military exercise that simulated a blockage and targeted strikes against Taiwan.

The White House statement said Biden and Marcos would discuss other matters including economic cooperation, clean energy and respect for human rights.