New United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Manila of Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines in the face of Chinese provocation in the South China Sea, during his first call with Philippines Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo.
Rubio also criticised Beijing’s “dangerous and destabilising actions in the South China Sea” in the call on Wednesday with Manalo, which the US’s top diplomat said violated international law.
“Secretary Rubio conveyed that [China’s] behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law,” the State Department said in a statement.
“An armed attack in the Pacific, including anywhere in the South China Sea, on either of their public vessels, aircraft, or armed forces – which includes their Coast Guards – would invoke mutual defence commitments,” the State Department noted.
Washington and the Philippines, a former US colony, signed the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951 stipulating that both countries would come to one another’s defence if they faced attack.
Rubio held the call with his Philippine counterpart a day after holding a four-way meeting with his Quadrilateral Security Dialogue counterparts from India, Japan and Australia.
In a veiled warning to Beijing, the four-country diplomatic and security grouping – known as the Quad – said they support a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region, “where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended”.
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