U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 59, continues to make incendiary statements antagonizing Beijing, this time saying the U.S. would defense the Philippines in the event of an attack by Beijing. Why Blinken continues to alienate China is anyone guess, continuing the same provocative rhetoric seen in the Biden White House’s first summit in Anchorage, Alaska March 18, 2021. In that summit, Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan accused Beijing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang Western China. Blinken said China should comply with the Hague’s July 12, 2016 ruling in the Court of Arbitration on Philippine’s complaint about China’s use of international sea lanes. Philippines brought the action the Court of Arbitration in 2013 after China began building out military installations in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Blinken said the U.S. was obligated to defend the Philippines because of a 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. “We call on the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] to abide by its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior,” Blinken said, sending a shot across the bow to China. Blinken and the Biden administration are on thin ice with China for its accusations of genocide and other human rights abuses. How ironic that Blinken offers Manila protection from a possible Chinese attack, yet equivocates when it comes to Taiwan. China has sent menacing military flights over the Taiwan Strait in recent months, all telling Taipei that it won’t tolerate any move toward independence from Beijing. Taiwan considers itself independent of Mainland China since the 1959 Maoist Revolution where Gen. Chiang Kai Shek led Chinese nationals to the Island of Formosa.
Blinken’s open admission that the U.S. would defend Manila in the event of a Chinese attack opens up the same reasoning over Taiwan. Nothing alienates Beijing more that hearing a U.S. official say that he recognizes the independence of Taiwan. Mainland China considers Taiwan sovereign Chinese territory, disputing U.S. claims over Taipei’s independence from Beijing. Biden, and generations of presidents, maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity when it came to whether the U.S. would, in fact, defend Taiwan. Well, with Blinken’s latest statement on the Philippines, it clear the U.S. would defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. “We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippines armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would involve the U.S. mutual defense commitments,” under the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
When former President Jimmy Carter signed the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, it superseded the 1955 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, committing the U.S. to defending Taiwan in the event of a Beijing attack. Carter’s Taiwan Relations Act, among other things, recognized only one China, the one in Beijing, ending the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Biden said May 23 that the U.S., under his watch, would defend Chinese Taipei from a Mainland China attack. So, Biden ,unlike what he’s done in Ukraine, says he would defend Taiwan even though the U.S. has no mutual defense treaty with Taipei. Biden cited the reason for not committing troops to defense Ukraine was the fact that Ukraine was not a part of NATO. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stotenberg for NATO membership since taking office May 20, 2019.
Biden shows when he’s press for answers he often makes gaffes, forcing his staff to walk back his remarks. Recent remarks March 26 in Warsaw, Poland heard Biden say Russian President Vladimir Putin should no longer remain in power. Biden’s staff forcefully walked back his remarks but it’s clear that Biden thinks Putin should no longer remain Russian President. Philippines Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said new 64-year-old President Bongbong Marcos should make enforcing the Hague’s July 12, 2016 ruling in the South China Sea settled law. “These findings are no longer with the reach of denial and rebuttal and are conclusive as they are indisputable. The Hague ruling is final,” said Manalo in a statement. Manalo expect Marcos to enforce the 2016 Hague ruling on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Blinken supports the ruling even if China rejects it.
Whatever the July 12, 2016 ruling at the Hague, Beijing flatly rejects all rights to the South China Sea, considering the waterway part of Mainland China. Marcos predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to abide by the Hague ruling. Xi told Duterte, “We will not budge,” meaning he has no interest in abiding by the ruling. Blinken’s public statements fire a shot across the bow of the Peoples Liberation Army [PLA], only ratcheting up tensions. Blinken’s provocative statements only push Beijing further away from the U.S. into Russia’s hands. Blinken spent his time at the G20 in Bali, slamming the Russian Federation for its war in Ukraine. Blinken has almost no relationship with Beijing, even less with Putin in Moscow. Unlike the U.S., Marcos believes, whatever the differences with Beijing, Manila must do everything possible to engage with the PRC.
About the Author`
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
