President Joe Biden told his Filipino counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday that the U.S. commitment to defending its ally was ‘ironclad,’ during a meeting designed to strengthen a key relationship amid concerns about China’s growing aggression.
Marcos, nicknamed ‘Bongbong’, was making the first White House visit by a leader from the Philippines in 10 years.
They agreed plans for greater military cooperation in what marks a turnaround in U.S.-Philippine relations in the year since he took power from Rodrigo Duterte, whose hardline, populist policies put him at odd with the Biden administration.
‘The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization,’ Biden told him in the Oval Office.
For his part, Marcos nodded to the rise of China, saying his country was in the middle of the ‘most complicated geopolitical situation in the world.’
President Joe Biden welcomed his Filipino counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House on Monday, as they agreed greater security cooperation
‘So it is only natural that the Philippines look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen, to redefine, the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific,’ he said.
The show of solidarity was designed to send a message to China that the U.S. remains to its partners in the region.
It came with what officials call ‘deliverables.’
The U.S. will send hardware – three C-130 aircraft plus coastal patrol vessels – to help modernize the country’s armed forces.
A trade mission will follow, along with $3 billion in financing for infrastructure projects including mineral supply chains, secure 5G deployment, and airport security.
Marcos has turned back towards the U.S. after Duterte cozied up to China.
But the complexity of the region means Marcos has to play a careful game. China is one of the Philippines’ top trading partners and, as he flew to Washington, Marcos said he would not allow his country to become a ‘staging post’ for military action.
Washington views the archipelago as crucial to any operation to fight back against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Its northernmost island is less than 100 miles from the autonomous island.
‘The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea,’ Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office
Their meeting came a week after the U.S. and the Philippines concluded their largest ever joint military exercises, involving 17,000 combined troops over a two-week period
The joint Balikatan Exercises included the US and Philippines forces using the HIMARS to sink a target ship, and firing artillery shells
Manila recently agreed to allow the U.S. to use four more of its military bases under an enhanced defense agreement.
And the White House meeting came a week after the two countries held their biggest ever joint military exercises, involving more than 17,000 troops, including 12,000 from the U.S.
The maritime region around the Philippines and in the South China Sea have been the subject of disputed territorial claims by China in recent years.
They include the Spratly Islands, which lie in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but are claimed by Beijing.
The Balikatan drills once focused on counter-terrorism operations to tackle groups affiliated with Al Qaeda. But today they have evolved to focus on the threat from China.
Biden has invited a string of regional leaders to the White House. Last week South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was feted with a state visit, complete with banquet
That focus is also evident in Biden’s invitations to world leaders.
He welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea for a state visit last week. And In January, Mr. Biden hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.
Later this month, Biden himself will head to Japan and Australia with the aim of shoring up relationships with key allies in the Indo-Pacific.
During their meeting, the U.S. president said to his guest that ‘it’s been a while since you’ve been here.’ It was a reference to the fact that Marcos Jr. came with his father, the then president, when he met Ronald Reagan.
Then Sen. Biden criticized Reagan’s administration for supporting Marcos Sr, who declared martial law before fleeing the country in 1986.
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