MANILA – US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin condemned the Chinese situation on Tuesday dangerous actions against the Philippines and extended a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Philippine forces came under armed attack in increasingly unstable waters.
During a visit to the Philippine province of Palawan, on the disputed South China Sea, Austin was asked whether strong US military support for the Philippines would continue under incoming President Donald Trump, including $500 million in new military financing.
Austin expressed belief that the strong alliance will “transcend” changes in governance.
“We stand with the Philippines and condemn the PRC’s dangerous actions against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea,” he said, using the abbreviation of China’s official name.
He added: “The behavior of the People’s Republic of China is worrying. They have taken dangerous and escalating measures to assert their extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea.”
China has also recently had territorial conflicts with smaller coastal states Vietnam, Malaysia And Indonesiavia the most important global trade and security route. Brunei and Taiwan are also embroiled in long-unresolved disputes.
The outgoing Biden administration has taken steps to strengthen an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in a future confrontation over Taiwan or in the South China Sea, which Beijing almost claimed in its entirety.
This is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s efforts to strengthen his country’s external defense, given the alarming escalation of territorial confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea.
There has been intense speculation about how Trump would direct US military engagements in Asia.
Marcos told reporters on Tuesday that he congratulated Trump on his victory in the presidential election in a phone call and renewed the Philippines’ commitment to continue strengthening its alliance with the US.
“I expressed to him our continued desire to strengthen the relationship between our two countries, a relationship that is as deep as possible because it has been in existence for a long time,” Marcos said.
Austin spoke during a joint press conference with his Filipino counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at the military headquarters in Palawan.
They were given a demonstration of an unmanned vessel funded by the US for use by the Philippine Navy for intelligence gathering and defense surveillance.
Austin “reaffirmed America’s rock-solid commitment to the Philippines” and reiterated that the allies’ mutual defense treaty covers both countries’ armed forces, public ships and aircraft… “all over the South China Sea.”
He also reaffirmed his department’s “commitment to strengthen the Philippines’ defense capabilities and ability to withstand coercion,” according to a joint statement.
Austin and Teodoro signed an agreement on Monday to secure the exchange of highly classified military intelligence and technology in key weapons that the US would supply to Manila against possible leaks.
The Department of National Defense in Manila said the deal aims to ensure the security of the exchange of classified military information and would “give the Philippines access to higher capabilities and expensive items from the United States.”
Neither party provided more details or released a copy of the agreement.
However, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press that such an agreement, similar to those Washington has signed with other allied countries, would allow the U.S. to provide the Philippines with higher-level intelligence and more advanced weapons, including missile systems.
It would also give the Philippine military access to US satellite and drone surveillance systems with assurances that such intelligence and details on advanced weapons would be kept safe to prevent leaks, the two officials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter. make a sensitive matter public.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing on Monday that no military agreement “should target a third party… nor should it undermine regional peace or worsen regional tensions.”
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