The Biden administration and the former Trump administration may have been deeply at odds over many issues, but China's claims in the South China Sea isn't one of them.
On Sunday, the Biden administration upheld a Trump-era rejection, warning China that any attack on the Philippines in the highly contested region would draw a U.S. response under a mutual defense treaty.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke military action from the U.S., reaffirming the position laid out by Trump's top diplomat, Mike Pompeo.