US, Philippines establish ground rules to counter China in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s visit to Washington amid tensions with Beijing yields plan for enhanced intelligence sharing on common ‘threats and challenges’
Clear message sent to China that armed attack in Pacific ‘on either Philippine or US armed forces’ would invoke allies’ mutual defence commitments

US-China relations

Khushboo Razdanin New York

Published: 5:01am, 4 May 2023

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The United States and the Philippines on Wednesday established ground rules for jointly countering China’s activities in a region that includes the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, outlining enhanced coordination for real-time intelligence sharing.

The Pentagon on Wednesday released guidelines on US-Philippine defence cooperation after US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, Jnr in Washington.

The Philippine leader is in the midst of a four-day US visit to bolster bilateral security ties amid tensions with China.

Washington and Manila would broaden “information sharing on the principal threats and challenges” to the peace and security of the US and the Philippines, according to a fact sheet relating to the meeting.

The arrangement would entail “a whole-of-government approach to coordinate actions in the event of an anticipated or emergent crisis or contingency”, it added.

Towards this end, both sides would develop “adaptable decision-making processes and effective communication procedures to support flexible, timely, and effective bilateral coordination and action tailored to each situation through inter-agency coordination”, the document said.

These efforts aim to focus on “principal regional security concerns” while fostering a “common understanding of roles, missions and capabilities within the framework of the alliance to face regional and global security challenges”, it further noted.

Manila has continued to raise concerns over what it calls China’s “aggressive tactics” towards Philippine fishing vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea to which Beijing has claimed historical sovereignty rights.

As Philippines moves closer to US, will region change tack on China?

Last week, the US State Department issued a statement accusing Beijing of “intimidating Philippine vessels undertaking routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone”. It reaffirmed America’s commitment to defend the Philippines in the event of an “armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea”.

Wednesday’s announcement sent a clear message to Beijing that an armed attack in the Pacific “anywhere in the South China Sea, on either Philippine or US armed forces – which includes both nations’ coastguards – aircraft, or public vessels” would invoke the mutual defence commitments between Washington and Manila under their mutual defence treaty.

As Manila is less than 800 miles from Taiwan, an invasion of the island that Beijing claims as its own territory would affect security in the archipelago.

Cross-strait issues elevated as a concern in the US-Philippine alliance in 1996 when Chinese unarmed ballistic missiles landed near Taiwan’s coast.

After years of “passivity” on cross-strait issues, Manila’s decision in February to grant the US new access to four military bases in the Philippines “effectively cemented” the allies’ efforts to expand Washington’s footprint in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, according to Renato Cruz De Castro of De La Salle University in Manila.

The decision came “in the face of an aggressive and expansionist China”, Cruz De Castro wrote in an analysis for the Brookings Institution in March.

Although the administration of Rodrigo Duterte had hinted at a “willingness to allow American forces to use the Philippines as a staging ground in a Taiwan contingency”, there were few indications the allies had discussed the possibility before Marcos Jnr succeeded Duterte last June, he added.

Beijing has long said Taiwan is to be eventually united with the mainland, by force if necessary. While the US does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state, it is legally bound to support its defence capability.

US cannot use Philippines to store arms meant for defending Taiwan, Manila says

Since taking office in 2021, US President Joe Biden has on several occasions stated the US would commit to intervening militarily should China use force against the island, despite America’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity.

As tensions with China mount, the Biden administration has striven to shore up ties with Asian allies. In recent months it has hosted several friendly leaders from the region, especially those whose countries are military treaty partners with Washington.

On Monday, Biden met Marcos Jnr at the White House, announcing a number of new arrangements and initiatives to “expand on the historic momentum in US-Philippine relations”, including the adoption of bilateral defence guidelines.

Last week, Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at the White House, with a discussion focused on threats from North Korea, which has close ties to China.

In January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Biden to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.