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| U.S. President Joe Biden takes part in a bilateral meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. in New York, New York, U.S., September 22, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap |
Moves to check Beijing's aggressive expansion into the trade routes and strategic islands of the South China Sea will headline talks Monday between President Joe Biden and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos at the White House.
Marcos is on a four-day trip that follows last week's state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a White House meeting in January between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"It is clear that we're in a deeply consequential period in terms of our Indo-Pacific engagements," a senior US official told reporters ahead of Marcos's arrival.
"It's really the first kind of meeting at this level and intensity between United States and the Philippines in decades," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Alarm bells are ringing for Washington and its Asian allies as China moves ever more confidently to assert claims to sovereignty over almost the whole South China Sea ― ignoring an international ruling that this has no legal basis.
The tension, combined with constant saber rattling over Taiwan ― the democratically run island that Beijing claims but Washington vows to help defend ― has prompted the Biden administration to rapidly bolster its military capabilities.
The Philippines, which lies close to key sea lanes and Taiwan, is of particular interest. Marcos signaled as he left for Washington that he is wary of being caught between the superpowers, telling reporters: "We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action."
However, this month, the Philippines identified four military bases ― in addition to five existing sites ― where US forces will be given access, including one located near the tense Spratly Islands.
The two allies also carried out their largest-ever military maneuvers in recent weeks. That has alarmed China, which accuses Washington of trying to drive a wedge between Beijing and Manila.
In a reminder of how diplomatic tensions can quickly echo in the real world, a Chinese ship on April 23 narrowly missed colliding with a much smaller Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the Spratly Islands. (AFP)
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