When Joe Biden held his first meeting with Manila and Tokyo, he promised to protect the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea as tensions rise.
The president made his point clear by saying, “The United States’ defense commitments to Japan and the Philippines are ironclad.” Ships from China and the Philippines have had several incidents in the sea that have caused worry.
“Any attack on Philippine ships, planes, or armed forces in the South China Sea would be against our mutual defense treaty,” the president of the United States said.
Many Southeast Asian countries, like the Philippines, say that they don’t own all of the South China Sea, even though China says it does. Because of this, China has been harassing the Philippines by firing water cannons, shining lasers at the Philippine Coast Guard, and running into Philippine supply ships.
Peking says that the Philippines is violating Chinese territory in the South China Sea. One person who works for the foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said, “China was committed to managing the situation at Ren’ai Jiao with the Philippines through dialogue and consultation.” Mao said that they wouldn’t mind getting more supplies, but they wanted enough time to check out the ship and “monitor the process.”
The leader of the Philippines in the past spoke out and blamed the US for meddling in their matters and making decisions. He said, “I’m pretty sure that the US is telling the Philippines that the current Philippine government shouldn’t be afraid to fight because the US will back Manila.”
The United States has also made its military and defense ties with Japan stronger, which makes China nervous as well.