It occupied it for half a century. How did the Philippines become America's spearhead toward China?

WASHINGTON — Days before Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives in Washington to meet U.S. Secretary of State Joe Biden, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels were harassed by Chinese navy vessels when they came dangerously close to them in the South China Sea.

It has become common for the Philippines to complain about harassment by Chinese naval forces of fishing vessels and maritime patrols in its maritime border areas where China does not care, according to the Philippine narrative.

Philippine fears of Chinese ambitions have supported Manila's military and rapid rapprochement towards Washington over the past years, despite the two countries' complex history that included harsh chapters of direct US occupation.

Manila used to complain about Chinese navy harassment of Philippine fishing vessels and maritime patrols (AP)

Long legacy and support for President Jr.

The United States occupied the Philippines for nearly half a century (1898-1946), during which time Washington had extensive influence within the Philippines. On the other hand, millions of Filipinos have moved to the United States, who have become one of the most important and successful Asian communities in American public life.

The two countries strengthened their military ties after they signed a mutual defense treaty in 1951, and U.S. forces were allowed to use Philippine military bases.

In 1986, his family forced then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (Sr.) to flee on U.S. helicopters because of a popular revolt that toppled the president described as a dictator. The president's family arrived in exile on the island of Hawaii with bags and boxes stuffed with cash, gold and jewelry, and President Marcos died 3 years later.

Two years after his death, the family returned to the Philippines in 1991 and began to rebuild the family's image, and was so spectacularly successful that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was elected as the new president of the Philippines last June.

South China Sea Islands Crisis

After years in which the Philippines tried to maneuver between Washington and Beijing to achieve its strategic interests during the rule of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Manila has taken a position in support of the United States, especially after China's expansionist intentions emerged in the waters of the South China Sea, including those that the Philippines considers its own maritime zones.

China is expanding its presence and influence in all areas of the South China Sea, including the waters opposite and near Philippine territory. To that end, Beijing has set up military bases on coral-rich areas disputed with the Philippines.

The Philippines believes China wants to dominate all of the South China Sea without granting any rights to other littoral states. The International Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Philippines in 2016, and China rejected the ruling affirming the Philippines' right to these areas.

Because of the unresolved dispute between the two countries, fishing vessels and Philippine coast guard vessels are constantly harassed by Chinese military vessels deployed in the region.

Military and political relations

In contrast to the strained relationship with China, the Philippines' relations with the United States have returned to warmth and strategy under the leadership of President Marcos Jr., who has just completed a historic visit to Washington, D.C.

President Marcos has sought assurances that the United States will support him in any open confrontation with China. Indeed, the White House has declared that America's commitment to defending the Philippines is "unwavering."

On April 11, Secretary of State and Defense Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, along with their Philippine counterparts, Enrique Manalo and Carlito Gálvez, participated in the third strategic dialogue between the two countries. On the same day, more than 17,3 U.S. and Filipino troops participated in a three-week military exercise in Philippine territory and waters.

The two sides pledged to uphold the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 2014 agreement that allows the United States to fund and improve military infrastructure and store weapons and equipment at Philippine military bases. Secretary Blinken and Austin reiterated the U.S. commitment to defending Philippine forces against any attack in the South China Sea.

Austin stressed that the mutual defense treaty applies to any "armed attack on any of our countries' armed forces, aircraft or vessels — including the coast guard — anywhere in the South China Sea."

The Strategic Dialogue included a new roadmap for massive military and security assistance from the United States to assist the Philippine military's modernization process, including acquisition of "radars, unmanned aerial systems, military transport aircraft, coastal and air defense systems" over the next 5 to 10 years.

The Philippine government has revealed the locations of 4 additional military bases that will be included in this agreement. Two of them are in Cagayan County, just 160 miles from the island of Taiwan.

The secret in Taiwan

President Marcos Jr. did not explicitly mention during his visit to Washington that his country would assist the United States in any armed crisis situation involving Taiwan, yet speculation about the role of the Philippines in any future crisis involving Taiwan did not stop given the state of Philippine-Chinese tensions as well.

Biden and Marcus discussed how the Taiwan crisis could affect their national interests and alliance.

Gregory Boling, an Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, believes there is an interest and concerns between Washington and Manila regarding Chinese behavior and Beijing's threats to Taiwan.

Although Washington has established the trilateral ECOWAS alliance with Britain and Australia, the Quad strategic quadrilateral grouping with Japan, India and Australia, and its strong alliance with Japan and South Korea, no other country provides what the Philippines can provide in the event of a U.S.-China military conflict over Taiwan.

Philippine military bases solve Washington's larger problem of geographic distance from Taiwan. The Northern Philippine bases allow for the rapid deployment of U.S. troops in the event of a crisis involving China's invasion of Taiwan.

Under the new agreements, the Philippines allowed a large number of U.S. troops to remain inside Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) camps, where it began building warehouses, living quarters, common facilities and stored combat equipment except for nuclear weapons, which are prohibited by the Philippine constitution.

Washington thus guarantees a military presence along the island chain stretching from Japan to the Philippines in anticipation of a confrontation that no one wants with Beijing.