US Vice President Kamala Harris will be visiting the Philippine island of Palawan in the coming week. Harris’s visit would make her the highest-ranking US official to visit the island chain in the midst of a long-running dispute over the South China Sea.
A Biden administration official said Tuesday that Harris would be visiting Palawan, an island chain that is part of the Philippines, next week. Harris would be the highest-ranking US official to visit the islands that are adjacent to the contested Spratly islands, where China has dredged the sea floor to build artificial islands near the Spratlys.
China claims to have control over the majority of the South China Sea, citing historical maps, angering the surrounding countries that also have claims over parts of the waters. However, a 2016 tribunal ruled against Beijing, citing that it does not have any basis to claim the body of water under international law. The ruling in favor of the Philippines has yet to be implemented.
With Harris visiting the Philippine islands, it may be seen as a rebuke to Beijing, three days after President Joe Biden met in person with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The administration official said Harris is expected to meet with “residents, civil society leaders, and representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard.”
The visit is also part of Washington’s effort to reaffirm its “commitment to stand with our Philippine ally in upholding the rules-based international maritime order in the South China Sea, supporting maritime livelihoods, and countering illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing,” the official said.
The Philippines is a defensive ally of the United States, and Manila announced on the same day that Washington would be spending $66.5 million to start building training and warehouse facilities at three of its military bases.
The Philippine ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, told Reuters Thursday that Harris will also be meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with the issue of Taiwan on the agenda. Romualdez added that Manila wants to play a role in a peaceful co-existence between Washington and Beijing.
Romualdez also said that Harris would likely give Marcos a “fairly good briefing” on the three-hour meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.