MANILA – United States Vice-President Kamala Harris is set to visit next Tuesday the island province of Palawan, seen as the Philippines’ sentinel in the South China Sea dispute.
She will be the highest-ranking US official to step foot in Palawan, which is adjacent to the disputed Spratly Islands.
A senior US official said on Wednesday that Ms Harris will meet residents, civil society leaders and the Philippine Coast Guard in Puerto Princesa City.
Her visit will demonstrate Washington’s “commitment to stand with our Philippine ally in upholding the rules-based international maritime order in the South China Sea, supporting maritime livelihoods, and countering illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing”.
The Spratlys lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Beijing disputes this and has continued its dredging and artificial island-building activities in the area.
In November 2021, three China Coast Guard ships fired water cannons on two Philippine supply boats passing through the waters around the Spratlys. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the area.
An international tribunal already struck down Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea in 2016 and ruled that the West Philippine Sea, where Palawan is located, belongs to Manila. But China does not recognise this.
The West Philippine Sea, an official designation by the Philippines, refers to the eastern parts of the South China Sea that fall within the country’s EEZ.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who took office in June, has pledged to uphold the tribunal’s decision and safeguard his country’s maritime rights.
The US has vowed to defend its military ally if the Philippines’ forces are attacked in the South China Sea, a conduit for about US$3 trillion (S$4.2 trillion) worth of ship-borne trade each year.
The Philippines’ Department of National Defence said on Tuesday that Washington will spend US$66.5 million to start building in 2023 training and warehouse facilities at three of its military bases in the Philippines under a 2014 joint security deal.
Ms Harris’ Palawan visit will come roughly a week after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic meeting on the eve of the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit in Indonesia. The two leaders agreed to work together and manage rising tensions over Taiwan, Russia’s war in Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, among other things.
Ms Harris will arrive in Manila on Sunday evening after attending the Apec Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
On Monday, she will first meet Vice-President Sara Duterte, before holding a bilateral meeting with President Marcos.
The US official said Ms Harris is expected to reaffirm Washington’s “defence commitments to the Philippines and the importance of our alliance in peace and stability in the South China Sea”. She will also seek stronger economic and investment ties with the Philippines, with deliverables to include programmes related to the digital economy and transition to clean energy.
Ms Harris will also meet civil society activists and hold a town hall with Filipino women before going to Palawan.
