Kamala Harris says US and Philippines ties long and enduring, vows ‘unwavering’ commitment

US V-P Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Nov 20, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

MANILA – The United States has an “unwavering” commitment to the Philippines, US Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Monday during a visit in Manila aimed at countering China and rebuilding ties that were fractured under former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

Ms Harris is the highest-ranking American official to visit the Philippines since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took power in June, signalling a growing rapport between Washington and Manila after years of frosty relations under his Beijing-friendly predecessor, Mr Duterte.

She also met with her Philippine counterpart, Ms Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president, whose deadly drug war sparked an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses.

“We stand with you in defence of international rules and norms as it relates to the South China Sea,” Ms Harris told Mr Marcos at the start of talks at the presidential palace in Manila. “An attack on the Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke the US mutual defence commitment... That is our unwavering commitment to the Philippines.”

Mr Marcos said he did not “see a future for the Philippines that does not include the United States”.

The US has a long and complex relationship with the Philippines – and the Marcos family.

Mr Marcos’ dictator father ruled the Philippines for two decades with the support of Washington, which saw him as a Cold War ally.

Relations between the two countries soured under Mr Duterte. In 2016, Mr Duterte called then US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore” over warnings he would be questioned over his controversial drug war.

A fresh start

Washington is now seeking to bolster its security alliance with Manila under the new president.

That includes a Mutual Defence Treaty and a 2014 pact, known by the acronym Edca, which allows the US military to store defence equipment and supplies on five Philippine bases. It also allows US troops to rotate through those military bases.

Edca stalled under Mr Duterte, but the US and the Philippines have expressed support for accelerating its implementation, as China becomes increasingly assertive.

“We have identified new locations and have begun a process with the Philippines to finalise those,” a US official told reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of Ms Harris’ meeting with Mr Marcos.

Ms Harris’ visit comes as the Philippine military disclosed that a Chinese Coast Guard ship on Sunday “forcefully retrieved” what was suspected to be rocket debris being towed by a Philippine Navy boat on disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Philippine Navy Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos said the Chinese ship blocked the small navy boat that was towing an “unidentified floating object” towards the Philippine-garrisoned Thitu island.

The Chinese then deployed an inflatable boat team that “forcefully retrieved said floating object by cutting the towing line attached to the (Filipino) rubber boat”, he said.

The object “looks similar” to floating debris that resembled Chinese rocket fairings, which were recovered this month from the island of Busuanga, north of Palawan province, military spokeswoman Major Cherryl Tindog told reporters.

Ms Harris is set to visit Palawan – bulwark of Philippine defences in the heavily disputed southern part of the South China Sea – on Tuesday.

The Philippine foreign ministry said it was “aware of the incident and awaits the detailed reports from maritime law enforcement agencies”.

People during a protest in Manila against US V-P Kamala Harris’ visit to the Philippines, on Nov 21, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Annoy China

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of it.

Beijing has ignored a 2016 international tribunal ruling that its claims has no legal basis.

Ms Harris will meet members of the Philippine Coast Guard on board one of the country’s two biggest Coast Guard vessels and deliver a speech.

Ms Harris’s trip to the Philippines is part of US efforts to remove any doubt about its commitment to the Asia-Pacific, as China aggressively expands its regional influence.

It comes after Ms Harris and US President Joe Biden met separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.

Ms Harris reinforced Mr Biden’s message that “we must maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries” while speaking to Mr Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok.

While her trip to Palawan would likely annoy China, the US has more to gain from sending a message of reassurance to the Philippines, said Mr Greg Poling, director of the US-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

“The Philippines will be much more reassured than China will be irritated,” Mr Poling said. REUTERS, AFP

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