U.S. repeats warning to China against attack on Philippine forces

 INA-Sources

The United States on Sunday repeated a warning to China that an attack on Philippine armed forces in the South China Sea would trigger a 1951 U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comment in a written statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an arbitration tribunal repudiating China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China - which lays claim to most of the waters within a so-called Nine Dash Line, which is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam - reiterated on Friday that Beijing did not accept the ruling.

The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea," Blinken said, referring to the rejection by former President Donald Trump's administration of China's claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea.

We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," Blinken added.


Source: Reuters