The US state department has said that secretary of state Antony Blinken during his visit to the Philippines, will re-emphasise Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its alliance with the South east Asian country.
The visit assumes importance amid increasing clashes between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea.
Blinken met his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo and is likely to meet Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top officials in Manila.
Blinken’s trip will be viewed as firm support to Marcos, the son of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, an American ally who ruled for two decades until the mid-1980s.
The South China Sea is one of several Asian countries that have territorial disputes with Beijing.
Over the past few months, there have been increased instances of faceoff between Philippines and Chinese coastguards. A confrontation between both sides two weeks ago slightly injured a Filipino admiral and four of his sailors.
The minor collision led the government to summon China’s deputy ambassador to convey a protest against the Chinese coast guard’s actions.
The US views China’s activity in the South China Sea as a means to harass its neighbours. Washington has a long-standing defence treaty with the Philippines where it would defend the Philippines, if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack in the South China Sea.
Over years, both the countries have upped their defence agreement. In 2014, the US struck a deal to fund development of Philippine military bases and deploy American troops on a rotational basis. In 2023, the US secured access to four more bases in a crucial deal that signalled closer ties between the two countries.
Next month, US President Joe Biden will host Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a White House summit amid increasing aggressive Chinese actions in the South China Sea.
