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US commander reaffirms defense treaty with Philippines
In the strongest comments yet from an American official on the South China Sea dispute, Commander of the US Marines in the Pacific Lieutenant-General Duane Thiessen said, "The United States and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty which guarantees that we get involved in each others defense and that is self explanatory." Thiessen was replying to a question about whether the US would help if Chinese forces attacked Philippine units over conflicting claims to the Scarborough Shoal which have sprung up recently. The US commander also stressed that US-Philippine military exercises that began last week were neither directed at China nor linked to territorial tensions. He said, "There is no direct linkage. There is no tie between Scarborough Shoal and US movement in the Pacific." His comments came after Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario issued a call for other countries to take a stand on Chinas alleged aggressiveness in the region. He said, "Since the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in the (South China Sea) are of great import to many nations, all should consider what China is endeavoring to do in the Scarborough Shoal. All, not just the Philippines, will be ultimately negatively affected if we do not take a stand." The standoff in Scarborough Shoal began on April 8, drawing attention to the annual joint military exercise this year. A Coast Guard ship and two Chinese vessels are still facing off over the two countries conflicting claims to the shoal. Del Rosario said yesterday the current dispute is Chinas way of showing that it can set the rules for any country. He said the sea situation is a manifestation of a "larger threat to many nations". He said, "The standoff is something they should be concerned about if they are interested in maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in the West Philippine Sea The bigger picture is anybody can be targeted and consequenced by this. "I think the other nations should be paying attention to what is happening. With China claiming everything, having sovereign rights to the entire South China Sea, whats the message? The message is I can set the rules for anybody." Posted by: ryuge 2012-04-24 |
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