Joe Biden said the US commitment to defend the Philippines was “iron clad” days after the American ally accused Beijing of dangerously harassing a patrol ship in the South China Sea.
In a joint statement after meeting his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the US president said any attack on Philippine aircraft or ships in the South China Sea would trigger their mutual defence treaty.
Marcos is on a four-day visit to the US that marks the latest effort by the Biden administration to shore up alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter the Chinese military.
The Philippines recently agreed to provide the US military with access to four new bases, in a move that sparked a vocal protest from Beijing.
“What we’ve seen recently is a series of continuing provocative acts on the part of China, testing and probing the Philippine waters . . . They’re looking for reassurance,” said a US official. The official added that extra US-Philippines security measures came during a “deeply consequential period” for engaging allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden and Marcos said they looked forward to creating two trilateral security co-operation groups, one with Japan and a second with Australia. The US also plans to provide the Philippines military with three Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes and four marine patrol vessels.
In addition, he US and its oldest Indo-Pacific treaty ally are enhancing bilateral defence guidelines to improve the interoperability of their militaries. The increased co-operation marks a big shift from the previous administration of Rodrigo Duterte, which triggered alarm in the US because of its willingness to prioritise relations with China at times.
But in comments that raised concern about whether Manila would allow the US military to use its bases in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Marcos said en route to Washington ahead of his trip that the country would not be a “staging post” for military action.
US officials have declined to say whether they are confident that Manila would provide them access to the bases, which would be important for pre-positioning weapons in the case of a Taiwan war.
The US official said that while Marcos did not want to be caught between the US and China, the Philippines leader had been “surprised” by some Chinese activity that he believed was “deeply concerning”.
China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has rejected claims of harassment from the Philippines.
Biden and Marcos announced a series of non-security measures to enhance the alliance, including the US sending what would be the first presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines.
The two allies recently held their largest joint military exercise, which also drew criticism from China.
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