{"id":2273,"date":"2024-04-11T15:31:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T15:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=2273"},"modified":"2024-04-11T15:31:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T15:31:24","slug":"biden-hosts-japanese-philippine-leaders-to-discuss-chinas-aggression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=2273","title":{"rendered":"Biden hosts Japanese, Philippine leaders to discuss China\u2019s aggression"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nWashington \u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House Thursday, aiming to send China a clear message to halt its aggressive behavior against its neighbors in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
The trilateral summit comes amid increased tension between Manila and Beijing. In recent weeks, Chinese Coast Guard ships have taken provocative actions to block resupply missions for Philippine soldiers stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal, who guard Manila\u2019s sovereignty claims over the Spratly Islands.<\/p>\n
These so-called gray zone tactics of intimidation fall dangerously close to triggering a mutual defense treaty between Washington and Manila and will be a focus in Thursday\u2019s summit.<\/p>\n
Key to the discussions is working toward a shared understanding on what constitutes gray zone attacks and the treaty\u2019s enforcement threshold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to coordinate very closely the question of China\u2019s so-called gray zone tactics, its coercive tactics, and what the implications of those might be,\u201d a senior administration official said in response to VOA\u2019s question during a briefing Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/div>\nThis photo released by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on March 25, 2024 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship blocking a Philippine ship near Thitu Island, in the Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea.<\/span> \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
The U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to \u201carmed attacks on Philippines Armed Forces, public vessels, or aircraft,\u201d the official underscored. \u201cThat includes its Coast Guard, and that includes anywhere in the South China Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden and Kishida will show Marcos a \u201cclear demonstration of support and resolve,\u201d the official said. Leaders will convey that they \u201cstand shoulder to shoulder with Marcos, ready to support and work with the Philippines at every turn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray zone tactics<\/strong><\/p>\n
China\u2019s gray zone tactics have blurred the lines of what is traditionally seen as armed attacks by using force that may not be intentionally lethal, such as military-grade lasers, acoustic devices, high-pressure water cannon, or simply ramming into ships, said Gregory Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that these things are only non-lethal in a statistical sense,\u201d Poling told VOA. \u201cBut if you do it enough, you will kill somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manila and Washington would then need to determine whether to invoke mutual defense under the treaty, he added.<\/p>\n
Both sides are realizing that \u201cChina has blurred the lines so much with its Coast Guard and militias,\u201d he added, saying, \u201cWe can’t treat China the way we treat normal armed actors, that China intentionally hides its military force behind civilians, and that we need to be more flexible in our responses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discussions are ongoing under the Maritime Security Framework signed by the U.S. and the Philippines in 2022. Known also as \u201cBantay Dagat,\u201d or \u201cGuardian of the Sea\u201d in Tagalog, the agreement aims to improve regional maritime domain awareness and confront maritime challenges together.<\/p>\n
Last year, the U.S. and Philippine secretaries of defense established guidelines reaffirming that \u201can armed attack in the Pacific, including anywhere in the South China Sea, on either of their public vessels, aircraft, or armed forces \u2014 which includes their Coast Guards \u2014 would invoke mutual defense commitments under Articles IV and V of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecognizing that threats may arise in several domains \u2014 including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace \u2014 and take the form of asymmetric, hybrid, and irregular warfare and gray-zone tactics, the guidelines chart a way forward to build interoperability in both conventional and non-conventional domains,\u201d the Biden administration said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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