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President Biden on Thursday used his first joint talks with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines to expand the web of security and economic alliances in the Indo-Pacific, which U.S. officials say will serve as a shield against Chinese aggression. I believe it will.
Flanked by Biden and diplomatic aides at the White House, he said the two countries were “deepening our maritime and security relationship,” in a blunt message clearly aimed at China’s actions in the South China Sea.
“Let me be clear: America’s defense commitments to Japan and the Philippines are ironclad,” Biden said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the diplomatic effort in Southeast Asia is one in a series of efforts by like-minded countries to thwart China’s activities in trade, technology and military aggression. He said that there is.
Its goals differ from those of Europe, where countries united in a single alliance known as NATO after World War II. Analysts say the United States and regional countries are not a single group, but rather a small, overlapping partnership aimed at ensuring they withstand Chinese pressure.
“China is using a very powerful combination of coercion and international trade, in addition to its growing naval power,” said Lana Mitter, a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He said the United States, Japan and the Philippines are trying to prove that “there is an ecosystem of different allies willing to provide answers” to that kind of pressure.
The strategy was on display Thursday when all three leaders emphasized the need for unity, even though no one condemned China by name.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared that “multilayered cooperation is essential” for the region’s future. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the meeting highlights the three countries, which are “bound by a deep respect for democracy, good governance and the rule of law.”
“When we come together, we can build a better peace for all,” Biden concluded.
Strengthening the alliance is unlikely to be a short-term solution to Beijing’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, but the United States and its allies say it violates international law and must stop.
But Biden administration officials said the meeting between the three leaders showed China that the military and diplomatic ties between the leaders of the three allies are even stronger.
In one of the world’s most important waterways, Chinese coast guard vessels have rammed Philippine vessels, blasting them with water cannons and shining lasers at the crew, a move the United States says It denounces what it calls “coercive and illegal tactics.”
So far, Chinese provocations have not amounted to the type of attack that would trigger the 1951 military defense pact between the United States and the Philippines.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting ahead of the meeting, said security issues in the South China Sea were a “pillar” of the discussion.
“The United States, Japan, and the Philippines are closely linked maritime democracies whose strategic goals and interests are increasingly converging,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “Just last week, three of our countries and Australia conducted joint naval exercises in the South China Sea.”
Officials said similar exercises would be held in the coming months as countries continue to insist on freedom of travel in international waters, which China claims as its territorial waters.
Mitter said the possibility of future naval exercises near the Philippines would be one of the strongest messages the three countries could send. China has long asserted greater control over the South China Sea and is seeking to expand its military presence in the region.
“I think they will take it seriously,” he said of China’s leadership, noting that a show of military solidarity could encourage Beijing to curtail harassment in the short term.
But in the long term, Japan and the Philippines are increasingly keen to build mutual alliances that can survive even if the United States reduces its involvement under a more isolationist regime, in the case of former President Donald J. Kennedy. He added that it has become. Mr. Trump won a second term.
“It could be very difficult,” he said of Trump’s chances of victory. “The United States’ allies in the region very much want the United States to remain in the region and have a presence.”
The meeting between the three leaders comes a day after Mr. Biden invited Mr. Kishida to the White House for a meeting and state dinner. The two men discussed China’s military and economic aggression, but also announced a series of new initiatives to boost cooperation in economics, space exploration, technology and research.
Officials from the three countries released a similar list of announcements after their meeting on Thursday.
Officials said countries will make new investments in infrastructure projects in the Philippines aimed at improving so-called “high-impact” projects such as ports, railways, clean energy and semiconductor supply chains.
The two leaders also unveiled new efforts by the United States and Japan to bring radio access network technology to the Philippines. This is a modernization aimed at improving wireless communications throughout the region.
Officials also pledged new cooperation between the three countries on global humanitarian efforts and greater cooperation between their militaries.
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