President Biden is hosting a trilateral summit today at the White House with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as the U.S. moves to expand its military presence around the South China Sea. Earlier today, protesters gathered in Manila to denounce the expanding U.S. presence in the Philippines.

Luke Espíritu: “We are being used as pawns by the Americans. They are bringing their military here through the nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement bases, which they are planning to increase to 22. They are concentrating their machinery here, their bombs, aircraft, all focused on China. What does this mean? They will bring danger to the Philippines and make us a target.”

In other news from the region, the U.S. has announced plans to expand a Navy base in Papua New Guinea, where China has also attempted to increase its footprint.