Washington CNN —The White House is very concerned by China’s actions in the South China Sea, a senior administration official said, as President Joe Biden prepares to draw two Asian allies closer at a historic meeting on Thursday.
Japan and the Philippines both have separate territorial disputes with China, in the former’s case the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and in the latter’s areas of the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, China claims the shoal, which is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, as its sovereign territory, as it does much of the South China Sea, in defiance of an international arbitration ruling.
CNN has previously reported that the three leaders will hold private discussions on the South China Sea.
A senior administration official also said that on Thursday the White House will be announcing a new infrastructure project in the Philippines.
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