Biden says the US will protect the Philippines in the South China Sea against Chinese assault

 Biden says the US will protect the Philippines in the South China Sea against Chinese assault

In the event of an assault in the disputed South China Sea, US President Joe Biden has issued a warning to China, stating that the US would protect the Philippines.

Days have passed since two incidents involving Chinese and Filipino boats colliding in the disputed seas.

Reiterating his "ironclad" defense pledge to the Philippines was Mr. Biden.

Manila has removed floating obstacles and invited reporters to record what it considers to be Beijing's risky maritime maneuvers in an effort to refute Chinese claims to the waterways.

Since the escalation of tensions between Beijing and Manila in recent months, Mr. Biden's remarks on the South China Sea on Wednesday were his toughest.

"Let me be absolutely clear: The United States has an unwavering commitment to defense against the Philippines. "The defense agreement between the United States and the Philippines is unbreakable," he said.

The US and its former colony, the Philippines, are required under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty to protect one another in the case of an armed assault.

He said, "Any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels, other armed forces will invoke our Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines," during his Wednesday welcoming address to Australian Prime Minister Antonio Albanese at the White House.

The reasons for China's impending collision with the Philippines

China and the United States are engaged in a fierce maritime battle.

What is the conflict in the South China Sea?

The US has "no right to get involved in a problem between China and the Philippines," according to Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry.

In response to a query on the remark, she told reporters that if the US decides to protect the Philippines, its actions "must not hurt China's sovereignty as well as maritime interests in the South China Sea".

China's "dangerous manoeuvres" caused a collision on Sunday between a Chinese coast guard ship and a Filipino supply boat in an area that is throughout the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to the Philippines. Manila said that a Chinese militia boat "bumped" a Philippine coast guard vessel in a different incident.

The Filipino vessels were on route to Manila, which has grounded a dilapidated naval frigate in the Second Thomas Shoal in order to bolster its claims.

Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the defense secretary of the Philippines, said that the Chinese boats "intentionally hit" the Philippine ships and charged China with "distorting the story to suit its own ends."

Reiterating similar accusations, Mr. Biden said that the Chinese warships had "acted dangerously and unlawfully" at the time of the incidents.

Due to its proximity to Taiwan and the South China Sea, two possible Pacific flashpoints, the Philippines is a crucial strategic partner of the United States.

The Philippine government has stepped up its efforts to challenge China's activities in the South China Sea since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022 and restored the country's relationship with the United States.

The pro-China stance of Rodrigo Duterte, Mr. Marcos' predecessor, who came under fire for not doing enough to thwart Beijing's actions in the South China Sea, is reversed under Mr. Marcos' foreign policy.

Duterte declined to cite Manila's legal triumph against China in an international tribunal, which declared Beijing's expansive claims to almost the whole South China Sea to be erroneous.