MANILA – United States President Joe Biden assured that the Mutual Defense Treaty is to be invoked by any attack on a Philippine aircraft, vessel, or armed forces in the West Philippines Sea.
During his opening speech in his trilateral meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said the US’ defense commitments to the two countries are “ironclad.”
The Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines, which is in place for more than seven decades, requires both nations to send support if a party is being attacked.
“We’re deepening our maritime and security ties. This is something I know you discussed with Vice President (Kamela) Harris during her travel to the Indo-Pacific,” Biden said. “And I want to be clear: the United States’ defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad, they are ironclad.”
“As I said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or armed forces in the South China Sea will invoke our Mutual Defense Treaty,” he added.
Biden further said that increasing security ties between the US, Japan and the Philippines is crucial to maintaining a free, open, vibrant, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
“As you heard me say before, a great deal of history in our world will be written in the Indo-Pacific, over the coming years. And as the three allies, three partners, three proud democracies representing half-a-billion people, today we commit to writing that story and our future together,” Biden said.
“To build an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, prosperous, and secure for all, this afternoon, we’ll discuss a few key areas where our nations are deepening ties. First, technology and clean energy, for securing our semiconductor supply chain to expanding trusted telecommunications in the Philippines, to building a clean energy workforce, to expanding our cooperation across the entire board,” he added.
China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, as well as an international ruling that has declared its stance baseless./PN
