The United States and the Philippines discussed opportunities to strengthen their alliance as the administration of President Joe Biden reaffirmed its recognition of the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, which it called “final and legally binding on all parties.”

China continues to install structures on Philippine-claimed Mischief or Panganiban Reef in the South China Sea while the rest of the world battles the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Erickson, a professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College, wrote that China fielded more battle force ships than the US Navy sometime between 2015 and 2020.

The United States announced talks for Thursday with Australia, India and Japan, with President Joe Biden renewing the alliance of the so-called "Quad" in defiance of warnings from China.