The Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and United States will play a big part in maintaining peace in the South China Sea, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.
Lacson noted this following US State Secretary Antony Blinken’s pronouncements after speaking with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
“There you go. The US-PH Mutual Defense Treaty is one yet untapped weapon in our arsenal. I certainly hope we do not draw that weapon. Meantime, we might as well keep it there,” Lacson, who chairs the Senate’s national defense committee, said in a post on his Twitter account.
There you go. The US-Ph Mutual Defense Treaty is one yet untapped weapon in our arsenal. I certainly hope we do not draw that weapon. Meantime, we might as well keep it there.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) January 28, 2021
On Thursday, Blinken tweeted he had a “great conversation” with Locsin, adding they will “continue to build upon the strong U.S.-Philippine Alliance with our shared interests, history, values, and strong people-to-people ties.”
US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken and Locsin reaffirmed a strong US-Philippine Alliance is vital to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
During the talk, Blinken “stressed the importance of the Mutual Defense Treaty for the security of both nations, and its clear application to armed attacks against the Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea.”
Also, Blinken underscored that the US rejects China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea to the extent they exceed the maritime zones that China is permitted to claim under international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, and pledged to stand with Southeast Asian claimants in the face of pressure from China.
On the other hand, Locsin said Wednesday the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against a new China law allowing its coast guard to fire at foreign vessels in reefs claimed by China.
