WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines\u2019 security and noted the \u201cdeep friendship\u201d of the two nations as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks this week as concerns grow about the Chinese navy\u2019s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcos\u2019 visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries\u2019 air forces held their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990 on Monday. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China\u2019s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as Biden sat down with Marcos on Monday, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationship\u2014one that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are facing new challenges and I couldn\u2019t think of a better partner to have than you.\u201d Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. \u201cThe United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in \u201cpossibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monday\u2019s Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea\u2019s nuclear program. Marcos\u2019 official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defense guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations\u2019 militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines\u2019 innovation economy, new educational programing and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guard\u2019s BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a \u201cstark reminder\u201d of Chinese \u201charassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by China\u2019s ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan\u2019s independence \u201cif you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs\u201d in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a \u201cOne China\u201d policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The officials described Huang\u2019s comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he \u201cfinds himself in a situation\u201d in which \u201cthe steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that \u201chistorical considerations\u201d could present \u201cchallenges\u201d to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos\u2019 estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcos noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries\u2019 sometimes \u201crocky\u201d past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During their private meeting at the UN, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could \u201cfulfill your dreams and hopes\u201d to do that, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
___<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gomez reported from Manila. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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