America’s top diplomat warned that any Chinese attack on the Philippines would be met with a forceful response
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Beijing to rescind its claims to the South China Sea and accept a 2016 territorial ruling in favor of the Philippines, also pledging a US military response should China carry out an “armed attack” on the island nation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the US Embassy in Manila, Blinken said China must “abide by its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior” in the South China Sea, citing a prior decision by a Hague tribunal which rejected Beijing’s broad claims to the region.
He went on to say that any “armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments” under a 1951 treaty, insisting the sea remain “free and open.”
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