VP Harris seeks to reset US relations with Philippines trip

US Vice President Kamala Harris heads to the Philippines on Sunday for a visit aimed at countering China's growing power in South East Asia.

Harris is set to meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to shore up relations with Washington's oldest Asian ally, a senior US administration official said.

She is also scheduled to pay a highly symbolic visit on Tuesday to the Palawan province, which faces the disputed South China Sea.

She would be the highest-ranking US leader to visit the frontier island at the forefront of the long-seething territorial disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

According to a US official, Harris is expected to board a Philippine coast guard ship stationed in Palawan and speak about the importance of international law, unimpeded commerce, and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Philippine Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez said Harris's trip to Palawan shows the level of the US support to an ally and concern over China's actions in the region. 

"The message they're trying to impart to the Chinese is that 'we support our allies like the Philippines on these disputed islands'," Romualdez said.

On Sunday, when asked about an earlier brief encounter with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Harris said, "we do not seek conflict and confrontation but we welcome competition."

US rebuilding ties with the Philippines

Harris and Marcos Jr. are expected to discuss the tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan and share notes on their separate meetings with Xi.

During a meeting on Thursday with Marcos Jr, Xi said China and the Philippines "must stick to friendly consultations and handle differences and disputes properly."

Marcos Jr's office later added that maritime issues "do not define the totality of Philippines-China relations.''

"Our foreign policy refuses to fall into the trap of a Cold War mindset," Marcos Jr. said. "Ours is an independent foreign policy guided by our national interest and commitment to peace.''

Focus on US-Philippines military cooperation

Of the five US treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Thailand, the Philippines is closest to Taiwan. 

Under Marcos Jr, who was sworn in as president in June, the Philippines and the US moved ahead with an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

It dates back to the presidency of Barack Obama, but declined under Marcos Jr's predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to sever ties with Washington and expel visiting US forces.

The agreement allows temporary visits by US forces with their aircraft and Navy ships for joint military exercises, combat training, and bracing to respond to natural disasters.

Crucially, it allows the US military to build warehouses and temporary living quarters within Philippine military camps.

Philippine military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro said last week that the US wanted to construct military facilities in five more areas in the northern Philippines.

Harris to raise human rights

After her meeting Monday with Marcos, Harris plans to meet civil society activists to demonstrate US commitment and continued support for human rights and democratic resilience, a US official said.

Harris is expected to raise human rights issues with the Philippine president.

Marcos Jr. has steadfastly defended the legacy of his father, a dictator who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising amid human rights atrocities and plunder.

Harris is also set to discuss human rights with Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of Marcos' predecessor, who oversaw a deadly anti-drugs crackdown that sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.

lo/jcg (AP, Reuters)