US, PH, Japan fortify alliance against China

(UPDATE) THE United States, Philippines and Japan have agreed to reinforce their defense alliance to counter the growing aggressiveness of China in the Asia-Pacific region.

The trilateral approach to counter Beijing’s belligerence could usher in more joint naval exercises, similar to the drills the three allies had with Australia in the South China Sea at the weekend, officials said.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden also pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Tokyo and Manila in the White House.

WALKING TALL US President Joe Biden arrives for a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) and Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
(left) at the White House on Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (local time). Leaders from the three nations met in a first-ever trilateral summit in a show of solidarity as China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea has raised tensions in the region. PHOTO BY ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

“The United States’ defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad,” Biden said as he met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

“As I said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty,” Biden said. “We are deepening our maritime and security ties.”

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In response, Marcos said the US and the Philippines are both committed to “a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

“It is a partnership, borne not out of convenience nor of expediency, but as a natural progression of deepening relations and robust cooperation amongst our three nations, linked by a profound respect for democracy, good governance, and the rule of law,” he said.

The summit comes amid repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waterway that have raised fears of wider conflict.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines.

The tensions, combined with saber rattling over China’s claims to the self-governing island of Taiwan, have prompted Biden to boost alliances in the region.

The three leaders hailed the meeting as “historic.”

Without mentioning China by name, they painted their alliance as a bedrock of peace and democracy in the Asia-Pacific in contrast to authoritarian Beijing.

Kishida said that “multi-layered cooperation is essential” and that “today’s meeting will make history.”

He gave a joint address to the US Congress earlier Thursday in which he urged Americans to overcome “self-doubt” about their role as a global power.

This time directly warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan — stripped of its right to a military after World War II — was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally, the United States.

China hit back, saying the US and Japan had “smeared” its reputation during Kishida’s state visit.

Beijing foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Washington and Tokyo had “attacked China on Taiwan and maritime issues, grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, and seriously violated the basic norms governing international relations.”

Japan and the Philippines are the latest Asia-Pacific allies to be hosted by Biden, who was joined by Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August.

But Biden has also moved to manage tensions with China, holding a two-hour phone call with President Xi Jinping last week following a face-to-face meeting in San Francisco in November.

On Wednesday, Biden said the major upgrade in defense ties with Japan was “purely defensive” and “not aimed at any one nation or a threat to the region.”

In the leaders’ joint statement following their historic summit, they underscored their nations’ unwavering commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and the importance of respecting the sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones consistent with international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

They expressed “serious concerns” about China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.”

In particular, the three leaders said they “oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation.”

Signed in 1951, the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States was enhanced by the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The VFA provided the legal basis and status protection for US military personnel temporarily assigned to the Philippines.

EDCA authorizes US forces to access designated military bases in the Philippines on a rotational basis.

WITH FRANCISCO TUYAY

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