US Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to reset relations with Philippines visit

The US Vice President’s visit will be the highest-level trip to the Philippines by an administration official and marks a sharp turnaround in relations.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in the Philippines on Sunday for talks aimed at reviving ties with the former U.S. colony, an Asian ally that is central to U.S. efforts to counter China's increasingly assertive policies towards Taiwan.

Ms. Harris, who will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., visits the region as the Biden administration seeks to shore up relations with allies worried about growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia and possible conflict over Taiwan, the self-governing island China regards as its own.

The Philippines is an important part of this diplomatic push. Military access to the country, just 120 miles (193 km)from Taiwan and adjacent to the South China Sea, would greatly complicate any attempt by China to invade Taiwan, according to military analysts.

In Mr. Marcos, son and namesake of the Philippines' onetime dictator, President Joe Biden and his national security aides see a strategic and strong ally for its top foreign policy challenge - competition with China - according to administration officials.

"It makes sense to invest high-level attention to restore deepened cooperation across the board with this youthful, populous, prospering, and strategically located ally," said Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama and now with the Asia Society.

Earlier, Ms. Harris said she had told China's President Xi Jinping, whom she met on Saturday at the APEC summit in Thailand, that Washington did not seek confrontation with China.

"We welcome competition but we do not see conflict, we do not seek confrontation," Harris told a news conference in Bangkok before leaving for Manila.