US urged to take firm steps in support of Philippines amid rising South China Sea tensions
- US envoy to Manila MaryKay Carlson has called on China to stop harassing Philippine ships in the South China Sea
“We urge the [People’s Republic of China] to cease harassment of Philippine vessels lawfully operating in the Philippine exclusive economic zone,” the envoy added, stressing Manila’s “sovereign rights” and “freedoms of navigation” in the South China Sea for all ships.
The Philippines and the US are bound by their 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) which obligates both sides to help each other in the event of an attack on one side by an external power. Washington has said the treaty’s scope extended to the South China Sea dispute.
Political analyst Edmund Tayao, president and CEO of think tank Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, told This Week in Asia that US pronouncements had been helpful, noting they made China aware of the dire implications if it went beyond deploying “grey-zone tactics” to buttress its territorial claims.
“Still and all, doubts remain as this rhetoric is not consistent if we review statements before. It was the US that ... established a partnership with China before recognising it without consulting Japan which was supposed to be its close ally during the Cold War,” Tayao said, referring to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979.