South China Sea: US will protect the Philippines in event that China launches an attack – Biden

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, said that if China tries to attack the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, the US will protect them.

The remarks were made a few days after two crashes happened between ships from the Philippines and China in the disputed areas of the ocean.

Mr Biden strongly stated that he is fully committed to defending the Philippines and that this commitment is very strong.

Manila disagrees with China’s claims to the waters and has removed obstructions in the water and invited the media to film China’s unsafe actions at sea.

Mr Biden made a very strong statement about the South China Sea on Wednesday. This is his strongest statement so far since tensions between Beijing and Manila have been getting worse in the past few months.

I want to make it clear – I really want to make it clear: The United States’ promise to protect the Philippines is very strong. He said that the defense agreement between the United States and the Philippines is very strong and cannot be broken.

The Mutual Defense Treaty was signed in 1951. It makes the US and the Philippines promise to protect each other if there is an attack. The Philippines used to be a colony of the US.

“If someone attacks the airplanes, ships, or military of the Philippines, our agreement to help and protect each other will come into effect,” he said during his speech at the White House on Wednesday, while greeting the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

On Sunday, the Philippines accused China of doing risky moves that caused a crash between a China coast guard ship and a Filipino supply boat. This incident happened in an area that belongs to the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. In another incident, Manila said that a Chinese militia boat hit a Philippine coast guard vessel.

The Filipino boats were going towards an old navy warship that Manila had left at the Second Thomas Shoal to show that it is theirs.

The defense minister of the Philippines, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, said that the Chinese boats purposely hit the Philippine vessels. He also accused China of changing the story to benefit themselves.

Mr Biden agreed with these claims, stating that the Chinese ships had acted in a dangerous and unlawful manner during the collisions.
The Philippines is a crucial friend of the US because it is near two possibly dangerous areas in the Pacific – the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Ever since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr became the leader in June 2022 and brought back the Philippines’ alliance with the US, the Filipino government has been more forceful in challenging China’s actions in the South China Sea.

Mr Marcos has a different approach to foreign policy compared to his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte was criticized for not taking strong action against China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea.

Duterte said no to using Manila’s legal win against China in a global court, which stated that China’s large claims over most of the South China Sea are not valid.