Kamala Harris’ trip to the Philippines conveys US intent to China

• Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Palawan, the main island of a Philippine archipelago.
• This will put her close to the South China Sea, where China has been constructing military bases.
• Harris met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to discuss defense projects.

This week, Vice President Kamala Harris will make history by becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit the main island of a Philippine archipelago famous for tropical getaways.

According to a senior administration official, Harris will travel to Palawan on Tuesday, where there are dive resorts and a Philippine military base. This will put her close to the South China Sea, where China has been constructing military bases, some on islands that the Philippines claims, in one of the most obvious signs of its ambitions in the Pacific.

An indication to Beijing that Washington is forging closer ties with Manila, Harris met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday. The two men were expected to discuss 21 new projects funded by the United States, including additional defense sites throughout the Philippines in locations that have not yet been disclosed.

According to a statement from the White House, the projects are a part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the two nations, which permits US soldiers to utilize designated places in the Philippines for security drills and joint military training.

But the US and the Philippines have much closer defense ties.

Two of the largest US military outposts in the world, Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base, formerly belonged to the nation until being turned over to the Philippine government in the 1990s. In accordance with a 1951 agreement on mutual defense, both parties agreed to support one another in the event of an assault by a third party.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Harris reaffirmed Washington’s “unwavering” commitment to the pact. “We must reiterate always that we stand with you in defense of rules and norms, (in the South China Sea),” Harris said, adding that any attack on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea would invoke mutual US defense commitments.

Sitting beside Harris, Marcos Jr. told reporters: “I have said many times, I do not see a future for the Philippines that does not include the United States, and that has come from the very long relationship with the US.”

Under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who wanted stronger ties with China during his six years in office, relations between the two nations had deteriorated.

The United States and the Philippines are moving past those “difficult years,” according to Gregory Poling, a marine security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

As Palawan is close to the South China Sea but not one of the contentious islands, Poling said Harris’ visit sends a strong statement of support to the Philippines without necessarily endangering Beijing.

“The benefit that the US in the Philippines will see in sending a message that ‘We stand together in the South China Sea’ far outweighs any modest frustration that it will cause in Beijing,” Poling said.

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