WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden sought to manage tensions over the South China Sea and Taiwan’s May presidential inauguration in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, their first direct talks since meeting in November.
The nearly two-hour call between the leaders – described by White House national security spokesperson John Kirby as “business-like” – comes ahead of meetings next week between Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Philippine President Marcos Jr as China flexes its military might.
Biden used the call to emphasize “the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” the White House said in a statement.
Xi said ties between the China and the US are beginning to stabilize, but warned that they could “slide into conflict or confrontation,” according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Kirby told a briefing after the call that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to China in the coming weeks. That follows a trip this week by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
On Monday, a senior US administration official said the US and Chinese militaries would hold maritime talks this week in Honolulu. Washington has expressed concern over China’s coast guard’s use of water cannons on Philippines vessels near Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) in a disputed section of the South China Sea.
An escalating diplomatic row and recent maritime run-ins between the two Asian countries has made it a potential flashpoint between the US and China.
Beijing claims vast portions of the South China Sea, sometimes in direct opposition to international law.
“China seems determined to continue to run these gray zone operations, driving the US-Philippine alliance and Philippines-Japan security ties closer, which we’ll see on display next week,” said Gregory Poling, a South China Sea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the trilateral summit in Washington.China’s response to Taiwan’s presidential inauguration in May will test the stability of relations between Beijing and Washington.
China regards Taiwan, a self-governed island with democratic elections, as part of its territory and recently dropped language about a “peaceful reunification” from its budget. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
Taiwan’s current Vice President Lai Ching-te, who Beijing views as a separatist, won the presidency in January and Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan ahead of his swearing in.
Xi urged Washington to translate “Biden’s commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’” into concrete actions, Xinhua reported.
In Manila on Wednesday, an official of the National Security Council (NSC) said the Philippines is prepared to respond to China’s attempts to foil its supply missions in the South China Sea.
NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya also said resupply operations will be adjusted to counter Beijing’s conduct in the waterway.
“Our commitment to maintain BRP Sierra Madre will always be there, so any attempt by China to interfere with re-supply missions will be met by the Philippines in a fashion that protects our troops,” Malaya told a forum, referring to the grounded Navy ship that serves as a Philippine military post.
Malaya reiterated that the counter-measures announced by President Marcos Jr last week against “aggressive” actions by China’s coast guard will be “multi-dimensional” and not solely military in nature.
Echoing a call made Tuesday by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro for the public not to fall victim to Chinese propaganda, Malaya warned of “foreign malign influence” meant to weaken the Philippines.
“We have seen that they are working here through their surrogates or if we may call them amplifiers, because there are definitely Chinese narratives which run counter to the truth,” Malaya said.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Australian warship is on a visit in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, fronting the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the disputed section of the South China Sea.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr boarded the HMAS Warramunga on Tuesday, said AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad.
Brawner was accompanied by defense undersecretary for strategic assessment and planning Ignacio Madriaga and Naval Forces West commander Commodore Alan Javier.
“HMAS Warramunga, a long-range frigate capable of air defense, surface and undersea warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction, is in a port call in Palawan,” said Trinidad.
The ship’s commanding officer, Commander Jennifer Graham, assisted Brawner and his party during a tour of the ship.
“The call and visit is part of the AFP’s military diplomacy activities aimed at strengthening military relations with partner nations. It is also covered under the PH-AUS (Philippines-Australia) Status of Visiting Forces Agreement,” said Trinidad.
The visit came amid reports that the Philippines, Australia, the United States and Japan are planning anti-submarine exercises in the West Philippine Sea on April 7.
Sought for the details of the planned exercise, Navy spokesman for WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad referred the media to the Department of National Defense.
Nevertheless, he said, “On the part of the Philippine Navy, we welcome any and all opportunities from like-minded navies to further enhance our different capabilities.”
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution which seeks an investigation into the “gentleman’s agreement” entered into by former President Duterte with China, as she said the deal gave China “more ammunition to assert her baseless claims” in the West Philippine Sea.
“If confirmed to be true, this ‘gentleman’s agreement’ would be tantamount to a surrender of the Philippines’ sovereignty and, in the words of former Philippine Navy flag officer-in-command Eduardo Santos, the navy chief who in 1999 ordered that the BRP Sierra Madre be run aground to serve as a naval outpost in the Shoal, ‘an act of treason’,” Hontiveros said in the resolution. — Reuters, Victor Reyes and Raymond Africa
