The US Warns China: Don't Try To Attack The Philippines!

Philippine Warship Jose Rizal Class (FF-150) guided missile frigate. (Wikimedia Commons/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rawad Madanat)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) issued a strong warning against China, if an attack on the Philippines will trigger a backlash from the US as an ally of Manila who is bound by the agreement.

This warning was issued by the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sunday, July 11. Blinken categorically rejects China's vast claims in the South China Sea. This commemoration refers to the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines which was signed in 1951 ago.

"The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea", said Antony Blinken, referring to denials by former President Donald Trump's administration of China's claims to offshore resources in large parts of the South China Sea, cited from Reuters, July 12.

"We also reiterate, armed attacks against Philippine armed forces, generalships or aircraft in the South China Sea will require the United States' joint defense commitment under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippine Joint Defense Treaty", said Antony Blinken.

The treaty's article reads, "each Party recognizes an armed attack in the Pacific region, on the one hand, would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and states that it will act to deal with the common danger in accordance with the provisions of the constitutional process".

Previously, Foreign Minister Blinken had emphasized this issue, including in a meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr. last April 8. At that time, Blinken reiterated the implementation of this agreement in the South China Sea.

Last Friday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Beijing did not accept any judgment or claim related to the 2016 decision of the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.

China has put forward a historical claim to the waters known as the Nine-Dash Line, leading to border conflicts with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

For information, citing the BBC on July 12, 2016, the International Court of Arbitration stated that China's historical claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis. The court said that Beijing's reclamation of islands did not give them any rights. This decision was taken based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).