MANILA — The Chinese government on Wednesday said interactions between the Philippines and the United States "should not be damaging to other countries' interests", following US Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Palawan near the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

"We are not against [the] normal interaction between the US and the Philippines, but their interaction should not be damaging to other countries’ interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.

"Our view has always been that exchanges and cooperation between any set of countries should be conducive to the mutual understanding and trust among regional countries and the peace and stability in the region. It should not target or hurt other countries’ interests," he added.

Harris visited Palawan on Tuesday to meet with fisherfolk and members of the coast guard in a show of support for the Philippines.

• US VP Harris visits Philippine island near China-claimed waters

"The United States—and the broader international community—have a profound stake in the future of this region," she said.

"As an ally, the United States stands with the Philippines in the face of intimidation and coercion in the South China Sea," Harris added.

Harris is the highest-ranking US official ever to visit Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to the Spratly archipelago in the hotly contested South China Sea.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire sea and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of it.

Harris's trip to Palawan came a day after she held talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila, where she reaffirmed the longstanding ties between Manila and Washington.

She said any attack on the Philippine military, as well as Philippine public vessels and aircraft on the South China Sea, "would invoke the US mutual defense commitment."

"We must reiterate always that we stand with you in defense, in international rules and norms in the South China Sea," Harris told Marcos.

• Attack on Philippines would trigger US response — Harris

The US has a decades-old security alliance with the Philippines that includes a mutual defense treaty and a 2014 pact, known by the acronym EDCA, which allows for the US military to store defense equipment and supplies on five Philippine bases.

It also allows US troops to rotate through those military bases.

EDCA stalled under former president Rodrigo Duterte, but the United States and the Philippines have expressed support for accelerating its implementation as China becomes increasingly assertive.

• US eyes building 5 more facilities in PH under EDCA

Of all the claimants to the South China Sea, Beijing has in recent years pressed its stance most aggressively. Hundreds of Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels prowl the waters, swarming reefs, harassing and attacking fishing and other boats, and interfering in oil and gas exploration as well as scientific research.

On the eve of Harris's visit to Palawan, a senior Philippine navy official accused the Chinese coastguard of "forcefully" seizing parts of a rocket that landed in the Spratlys.

Beijing -- which has built militarized artificial islands in the archipelago -- insisted the handover took place after "friendly consultation".

• PH needs to send note verbale to China over rocket part 'seizure': Marcos Jr.

— With reports from Raffy Cabristante, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse

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