VP Harris to visit frontline island in sea feud

MANILA, PHILIPPINES >> Vice President Kamala Harris will underscore America’s commitment to defending treaty ally the Philippines with a visit that started Sunday and involves flying to an island province facing the disputed South China Sea, where Washington has accused China of bullying smaller claimant nations.

After attending the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation summit in Thailand, Harris flew Sunday night to a redcarpet welcome in Manila. Today, she meets President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for talks aimed at reinforcing Washington’s oldest treaty alliance in Asia and strengthening economic ties, said a senior U.S. administration official, who was not identified according to practice, in an online briefing ahead of the visit.