Published January 28, 2021 11:55am
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed the Biden administration's commitment to defend the Philippines against any armed attack in the South China Sea amid Beijing's new law authorizing its coast guard to shoot foreign vessels in the disputed waters it claims nearly in its entirety.
Blinken made this pledge in a call to Philippine counterpart Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Thursday, a day after he was sworn in as America's top diplomat.
"Secretary Blinken and Secretary Locsin reaffirmed that a strong US-Philippine Alliance is vital to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Secretary 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," according to a statement released by the US State Department.