US VP Harris meets Philippines President Marcos, reaffirms ‘unwavering’ commitment amid South China Sea feud

On Monday, amid her ongoing visit to the Philippines, United States Vice President, Kamala Harris met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace in Manila and reaffirmed Washington’s “unwavering” commitment to defend its ally in the event of an attack in the South China Sea.

“We stand with you in defence of international rules and norms as it relates to the South China Sea,” said Harris to Marcos during their meeting. She added, “An armed attack on Philippine armed forces, vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defence commitments…that is our unwavering commitment to the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, Marcos said that he does not see a future for Manila “that does not include the United States”. Ahead of the high-level talks, on Sunday, a Philippine military commander accused a Chinese coast guard ship of “forcefully” retrieving a piece of suspected rocket debris floating in the ocean which was being towed by a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea.

The vice president’s visit will mark the highest-level trip by an administration official, during which she will also meet her Philippine counterpart Sara Dutrete, daughter of the former leader. The vice president thenwill visitPalawan province along the South China Sea to meet fishermen, officials, the coast guard and the locals. The province is also seen at the forefront of the long ongoing territorial disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Washington with this visit is trying to strengthen its military alliance with the Philippines, including a mutual defence treaty and a 2014 pact which will allow the US to store its defence equipment and supply one to five Philippines bases.

Beijing has long claimed some of the territories off the coast of Palawan and much of that sea is China’s citing historical maps. However, an international arbitration, in 2016 said that their claims have no legal basis and ruled in the favour of Manila.

Harris will also deliver a speech before the Philippines’ police, coast guard, military and government officials and highlight the importance of international law, unhindered trade and navigation freedom in the South China Sea, said spokesperson, Commodore Armand Balilo.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday, in a press conference said that he is not concerned about Harris’ visit to Palawan which is “very clearly on Philippine territory”, therefore it should not cause any tensions between Manila and Beijing.

Philippine Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez while speaking to AP said that this trip shows the obvious message to the Chinese that “we support our allies like the Philippines on these disputed islands.” He added that this visit is also a “significant step” which shows how seriously Washington views this situation.

Notably, Marcos' predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte had a strained relationship with the US and had threatened to sever ties with the US amid perceived closeness to Beijing. Therefore, Washington is now looking to strengthen ties with the new administration after Marcos Jr took office in June following a landslide electoral victory. This includes US President Joe Biden’s brief exchange with his Philippine counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September.

“We’ve had some rocky times, but the fact is it’s a critical, critical relationship, from our perspective. I hope you feel the same way,” Biden had reportedly said. While Marcos Jr. echoed a similar sentiment and called Manila, Washington’s friend and ally who will continue to look to the US for “continuing partnership and the maintenance of peace in our region.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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