US SecState Rubio visits Philippines, condemns 'dangerous' China actions in WPS

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned "dangerous and aggressive actions" by China in the South China Sea, known locally as the West Philippine Sea (WPS), as he arrived in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday. Rubio is in the region to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In a statement, the US State Department said, "China's troubling pattern of provocations against the Philippines' legitimate maritime operations undermines regional peace and stability and directly contradicts China's repeated commitments to resolve disputes peacefully." The US secretary of state landed in Manila on Tuesday morning. While talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who will also be in Manila on Wednesday and Thursday, have not been publicly confirmed by his entourage, Rubio has said he is open to the possibility of a meeting. The two met last year on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur and again in Munich in February. In an op-ed published in Philippine media outlets Tuesday morning, Rubio heralded Washington's commitment "to freedom of navigation in Southeast Asia" while reaffirming the US defensive umbrella in the region. "This freedom is by no means guaranteed. If these waters were to fall under the control of a power willing to use trade as a geopolitical weapon, both the United States and the ASEAN states would face serious new threats to their sovereignty, security, and economic future," he wrote, in a clear allusion to China. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis. The Philippine military accused the Chinese coast guard of wounding a Filipino sailor on Monday near an outpost in a disputed area of the crucial waterway. The Philippines said in a statement a Chinese rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight men had circled and taken photos and video of the BRP Sierra Madre, which sits on the flashpoint Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the Spratly archipelago. The Chinese coast guard responded to the accusations in a statement, calling Manila's version of events a "complete distortion of the truth." Rubio is making his first visit to the Philippines as secretary of state, where he intends to reaffirm the strengthened partnership with the United States. The visit comes as the United States and Iran are once again embroiled in conflict, more than a week after the resumption of hostilities over another strategic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to the press before his departure from Washington on Sunday, he indicated that he would participate in a meeting with fellow Quad countries Australia, Japan and India on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, as well as meetings with South Korea and possibly Vietnam. Rubio intends to raise the issue of US economic commitment to energy infrastructure, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence during these meetings, he said. — Agence France-Presse