Biden Says US is Willing to Fight China On Behalf of the Philippines Following Ship Collision Near Disputed Island; China Says US has No Right to Get Involved in Its Problems with Philippines

Biden says US is willing to fight China on behalf of the Philippines following ship collision near disputed island:

President Biden said Wednesday that the US military is willing to fight nuclear-armed China on behalf of the Philippines after ships from the two Asian countries collided near a disputed, unpopulated island in the South China Sea.

“The United States defense agreement with the Philippines is ironclad. Any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines,” Biden said during a joint press conference at the White House alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The 1951 mutual defense pact says the US and the Philippines will jointly “defend themselves against external armed attack.”

On Sunday, two of Manila’s military ships collided with a Chinese vessel that sought to block them from reaching the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, which is strategically located along important commercial shipping routes but also submerged at high tide.

The Second Thomas Shoal is located much closer to the Philippines than to China and is one of dozens of islands in the South China Sea disputed by China and the governments of nearby countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. —>READ MORE HERE

China says US has no right to get involved in its problems with Philippines:

The United States does not have the right to get involved in problems between China and the Philippines, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, as tensions simmer over conflicts in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

“The U.S. is not party to the South China Sea issue, it has no right to get involved in a problem between China and the Philippines,” said ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press briefing when asked about the U.S. saying it will defend the Philippines.

China and the Philippines have had several high-profile confrontations in the South China Sea, most notably in disputed waters around the Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands.

Last Sunday, a Chinese vessel collided with a Philippine boat, with Manila condemning “in the strongest degree” the “dangerous blocking manoeuvres” of the vessel.

“The U.S. promise of defending the Philippines must not hurt China’s sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea, and it also must not enable and encourage the illegal claims of the Philippines,” Mao said.

A spokesperson for the Philippine foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. —>READ MORE HERE

Source