US defence commitments to Japan and Philippines are 'ironclad': President Joe Biden

United States (US) President Joe Biden said on Thursday (Apr 11) that Washington's defence commitments to Japan and the Philippines were "ironclad" as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. amid the two countries' territorial disputes with China.

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In a first-of-its-kind trilateral summit, Biden, Kishida, and Marcos Jr. unveiled a wide range of agreements to enhance security and economic ties. "United States defence commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad," Biden said.

South China Sea tops summit agenda

Topping the summit's agenda was China's increasing presencein the South China Sea, which has escalated despite a personal appeal by Biden to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, a report by the news agency Reuters said.

The Philippines and China had several maritime run-ins in March that included the use of water cannons and heated verbal exchanges. These disputes centre on the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a small number of Filipino troops stationed on a warship that Manila grounded there in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claims.

During Thursday's meeting, Biden affirmed that a 1950s-era mutual defence treaty binding Washington and Manila would require the USto respond to an armed attack on the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Japan, meanwhile, has a dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea.

Deals struck on defence, AI, space

During the summit, deals were struck in the areas of defence, artificial intelligence (AI), space, and other areas. The US and Japan announced plans to upgrade their military alliance, and Biden's meeting with Kishida addressed Japan's possible involvement in advanced capabilities projects of the AUKUS security pact.

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On Tuesday, American software giant Microsoft announced it would invest $2.9 billion over two years to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan. In the space sector, Japan is hoping to land its first astronaut on the moon with the US Artemis project.

The US and Japan also signalled support for a plan to build the first high-speed rail in the US using Japanese bullet trains.

Meanwhile, the US would place undisclosed "humanitarian relief commodities" at Philippine military bases. Facebook parent Meta has invested in a submarine cable system that would connect the US with the Philippines.

Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment backed a new Luzon corridor effort in the Philippines, aimed at infrastructure projects including ports, rail, clean energy and semiconductor supply chains.

(With inputs from agencies)