Biden Affirms American Commitment to Defend the Philippines

U.S. President Joe Biden affirmed to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House on Monday that the American commitment to defend the allied nation is "steadfast," including in the South China Sea where the Philippines faces Chinese pressure. He reiterated the mutual defense treaty signed in 1951, which calls for U.S. intervention in the event of an armed attack on the Philippine military. Marcos, for his part, emphasized the importance of the United States in a region that "could be described as having the most complex geopolitical situation in the world at the moment." Notably, this visit by Marcos is the first by a Philippine president to the White House in ten years.