Washington, Apr 11 (EFE).- In a strongly worded warning to Beijing, United States President Joe Biden vowed on Thursday to defend the Philippines from “any attack” in the disputed South China Sea amid growing concern over Chinese provocations.
“As I have said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty,” he told reporters at the start of his meeting at the White House with the leaders of Japan, Kishida Fumio, and the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
With those words, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, which would require his country to respond to an armed attack on the Philippines in the South China Sea.
“The United States’ defense commitments to Japan and the Philippines are ironclad. They’re ironclad,” the president insisted.
The summit between the three leaders, the first three-way summit, focused on the South China Sea, where the Chinese authorities are locked in a sovereignty dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands (known in China as the Diaoyu) and with the Philippines over several shoals.
In both instances, the disputes are motivated by rich fishing grounds and potential offshore oil and gas deposits.
The leaders are expected to address the recent harassment by Chinese coast guard vessels and militia of Philippine ships that were attacked with water cannons at the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines has had a ship, the Sierra Madre, stranded since 1999 in an attempt to reclaim the enclave.
As Biden made clear at the start of the meeting, the goal of the summit is to strengthen US alliances in the Asia-Pacific region and thereby show unity against China.
“When we stand as one, we’re able to forge a better future for all. And that’s what this new trilateral is all about,” he said.
According to senior officials, the three leaders planned to finalize an agreement for the coast guards of the US, Japan and the Philippines to conduct a mission in the South China Sea next year, which would be the second maritime exercise of its kind after one in June.
The summit will also have a strong economic component with the announcement that several US companies, such as the technology giant Meta and the telecommunications and satellite company Astranis, will invest in the Philippines, according to the same sources. EFE
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