() – The United States’ commitment to the defense of Japan and the Philippines remains “armored,” President Joe Biden declared Thursday as he received the leaders of those countries amid their territorial disputes with China.
Biden hosted the first trilateral summit between the countries and received Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, a day after the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“When we come together, we are able to build a better future for everyone,” Biden declared Thursday in the East Room of the White House.
Japan and the Philippines maintain separate territorial disputes with China, in the case of the former through the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and in the case of the latter through areas of the South China Sea.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have centered on Second Thomas Shoal, located about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off the coast of the Philippine island of Palawan. In the 1990s, the Philippines ran an old World War II-era Navy transport ship aground on the bank to help assert its claim to the area. Today, the ship is almost a rusting ruin and is manned by Filipino marines who rotate through the area.
Meanwhile, China claims the area, which is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, as sovereign territory, as well as much of the South China Sea, against an international arbitration ruling. Clashes have recently occurred when Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at Philippine replenishment ships, resulting in injuries to Filipino sailors and damage to the ships.
Referring to Philippine-Chinese tensions, Biden declared on Thursday that “any attack on Philippine aircraft, ships or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty.”
The 1951 mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines — the oldest U.S. pact of its kind in the Asia-Pacific — stipulates that both sides would help defend each other if either were attacked by a third party.
Thursday’s meeting is the administration’s latest attempt to confront this type of Chinese aggression, and a senior administration official said before the meeting that the White House is very concerned about China’s actions in the China Sea. Southern.
“What you will see is a clear demonstration of support and determination, from both President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida, that we stand shoulder to shoulder with Marcos, ready to support and work with the Philippines at all times,” an official said earlier. of Thursday’s meeting.
Marcos said Thursday that the Philippines, Japan and the United States “gather today as friends and partners united by a shared vision in the pursuit of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
The three countries, Marcos added, are “linked by a deep respect for democracy, good governance and the rule of law.”
The meeting comes as the region faces uncertainty over China’s aggressive stance toward Taiwan and the South China Sea, along with North Korea’s nuclear provocations and its burgeoning relationship with Russia, concerns that have brought regional allies closer to the United States.
Japan has been at the center of Biden’s alliance-building in the Indo-Pacific, as officials have seen a willing partner in Kishida, who has significantly changed the country’s defense posture in recent years and provided continued support. to Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion. Kishida has pledged to increase defense spending by 2% of GDP by 2037 and has acquired American Tomahawk missiles to boost its counterattack capabilities.
Biden hosted Marcos at the White House last year, signaling his intention to restore strong ties with Manila that had frayed under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who sought closer relations with China.
“We will continue to support the modernization goals of the Philippine military,” Biden told the visiting leader during that visit, pledging that the two nations “not only share a strong partnership” but also a “deep friendship, which has been enriched by millions of Filipino-Americans in communities across the United States.”
One of the highlights of Thursday’s meeting were several announcements aimed at bolstering the Philippines amid those clashes.
A senior administration official also said the White House will announce a new infrastructure project in the Philippines. reported earlier this week that one of the announcements will be the development of a new rail and sea corridor between the Philippine Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base, a move intended to send a clear message to Beijing.
Biden briefly touched on that economic corridor on Thursday. “It means more jobs for people across the region,” he said. “It means more investment in sectors critical to our future: clean energy, ports, railways, agriculture and much more.”
The White House is also expected to boost the capacity of the Philippine military with new infrastructure investment similar to what the United States announced in India on the eve of the G20.
In the days leading up to the summit, the US, Japan and the Philippines – along with Australia – conducted maritime military exercises near the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), after Philippine ships reported “harassment” by ships Chinese in the South China Sea.
The senior official added that the White House will also make announcements regarding “open radio access network technology” and that both the US and Japan will provide millions of dollars in funding.
Officials also said they will announce an upcoming Coast Guard patrol in the Indo-Pacific that will take place “in the next year.”
‘s Brad Lendon, Arlette Saenz and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.
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