WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden made “ironclad” defence pledges to Japan and the Philippines Thursday as he hosted his counterparts amid rising tensions with Beijing, whose actions the three described as “dangerous and aggressive”. “Any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in South China Sea would invoke our mutual defence treaty,” Biden stated as he met Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japan’s Fumio Kishida.Beijing responded by defending its actions in South China Sea as “lawful”. Overseas ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated Beijing “firmly opposes the relevant countries manipulating bloc politics, and firmly opposes any behaviour that provokes or lays plans for opposition, and hurts other countries’ strategic security and interests”.
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