Biden to warn on Beijing’s South China Sea moves in Philippines-Japan summit

Long-simmering tensions between China and its neighbors will be in the spotlight on Thursday as leaders of the U.S., Japan and the Philippines gather at the White House to push back on Beijing’s stepped-up pressure on Manila in the disputed South China Sea.
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new joint military efforts and infrastructure spending in the former American colony as he hosts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington for a first-of-its-kind trilateral summit.
Topping the meeting’s agenda is China’s increasing pressure in the South China Sea, which has escalated despite a personal appeal by Biden to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year.
The Philippines and China had several maritime run-ins last month that included the use of water cannon and heated verbal exchanges. The disputes center on the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a small number of Filipino troops stationed on a warship that Manila grounded there in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claims.