With eye on China, Biden tells Marcos that US commitment to Philippines is ‘ironclad’

The US will transfer three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol ships to the Philippines. Economic, climate and other initiatives also unveiled
The Oval Office meeting comes as concerns grow about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea

The Philippines

Associated Press

Published: 6:27am, 2 May 2023

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President Joe Biden reiterated US commitment to the Philippines’ security and noted the “deep friendship” of the two nations as he welcomed Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr for White House talks on Monday, as concerns grow about the Chinese navy’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos Jnr’s visit to Washington comes after the US and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries’ air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter aircraft training in the Philippines since 1990.

The Philippines this year agreed to give the US access to four more bases on the islands as the US looks to deter Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coastguard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

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But as Biden sat down with Marcos Jnr, the US president went out of his way to note the progress in the US-Philippine relationship – one that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos Jnr took office less than a year ago.

“We are facing new challenges and I couldn’t think of a better partner to have than you.” Biden told Marcos Jnr at the start of their Oval Office meeting. “The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defence of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernisation.”

Marcos Jnr said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in “possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now”.

Monday’s Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea’s nuclear programme. Marcos Jnr’s official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

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The US president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbours. Biden is expected to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defence guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations’ militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

Biden’s administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines’ innovation economy, new educational programming and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit.

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On April 23, journalists were aboard the Philippine coastguard’s BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coastguard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos Jnr took office in June.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a “stark reminder” of Chinese “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,” Miller said.

US and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the US military increased access to bases.

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Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan’s independence “if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs” in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the US, has a one-China policy that recognises Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos Jnr has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huang’s comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.

One official said that Marcos Jnr still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he “finds himself in a situation” in which “the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning”.

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Close US-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos Jnr took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos Jnr took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that “historical considerations” could present “challenges” to the relationship with Marcos Jnr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A US appeal court in 1996 upheld damages of about US$2 billion against the elder Marcos’ estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Marcos Jnr noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.

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Biden and Marcos Jnr met in September during the UN General Assembly, where the US president acknowledged the two countries’ sometimes “rocky” past.

During their private meeting, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos Jnr his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos Jnr how the administration could “fulfil your dreams and hopes” to do that, a senior administration official said.

Marcos Jnr is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.