U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on a three-day trip to the Philippines, is expected to make a stop on the islands of Palawan on the edge of the South China Sea where she will reaffirm Washington’s support for a 2016 international tribunal ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claim in the disputed waterway.
“The vice president will underscore our commitment to stand up for the international rules and norms because we recognize the impact that that has on Philippine lives and livelihoods,” U.S. officials said.
Beijing claims some territories in the waters off Palawan and much of the South China Sea, citing China’s own historical maps. The 2016 ruling by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, however, said the Chinese claims had no legal basis, delivering a victory for Manila.
But the Philippines has been unable to enforce the ruling and has since filed hundreds of protests over what it calls encroachment and harassment by China’s coast guard and its vast fishing fleet.
Harris’ visit would be the highest-level trip to the Philippines by a Biden administration official, and marks a sharp turnaround in relations, which were strained by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s animosity toward Washington and his embrace of Beijing.
“The vice president will tell President Marcos that we are pleased to see our security ties in such strong position,” an official said.
Washington and the Philippines have moved ahead with an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that dates back to the Obama administration and that languished under Duterte.
EDCA allows the United States to maintain a military presence, but not a permanent one, in its former colony through the rotation of ships and aircraft for humanitarian and maritime security operations in mutually agreed Philippine bases.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.