Article in The Times this afternoon.
US vows to defend Philippines after Beijing ‘chases off’ warship
Snippet:-
The United States has warned that it will defend the Philippines against any attack by China, as Beijing boasted that it had chased away a US warship from islands that it claims in the South China Sea.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave the warning on the fifth anniversary of an international court ruling that dismissed Chinese claims to ownership of the South China Sea. It was issued as a naval destroyer, the USS Benfold, sailed close to the Paracel Islands in a symbolic rejection of Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over the area.
“The People’s Republic of
China continues to coerce and intimidate southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway,” Blinken said. “We call on the PRC to abide by its obligations under international law, cease its provocative behaviour and take steps to reassure the international community that it is committed to the rules-based maritime order that respects the rights of all countries, big and small.”
He added: “We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defence commitments under . . . the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty.”