US reaffirms support for Philippines

The United States has reaffirmed its military support for the Philippines, a former US colony, as tensions escalate between Manila and Beijing over the South China Sea.

In a Saturday meeting with his Filipino counterpart Voltaire Gazmin on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington is committed to a 1951 defense treaty signed with Manila, under which both sides are bound to help defend each other in case of external attacks.

Å“Secretary Hagel emphasized the importance of the Philippines as a treaty ally and reaffirmed the United States commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters after the meeting.

Little said that both defense chiefs also “discussed deepening bilateral defense cooperation including work towards increasing rotational presence of US forces in (the) Philippines to address common challenges.”

He said the US attaches importance to maintaining the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The announcement by Washington follows the recent killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guards. The incident led to tensions between the two countries as well as with China over maritime navigation rights in the South China Sea.

Tensions between the Philippines and China started on April 8, 2012, following a naval standoff between the two countries in the South China Sea over the regionâ„¢s shoal, which both sides claim as their territory.

Six countries, including China, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan, claim sovereignty over areas in the South China Sea, which is said to contain huge deposits of oil and gas.

China claims all of the South China Sea as an historic right, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

YH/HN