The United States has issued new guidelines outlining its defense treaty duties to the Philippines, including attacks on its coast guard in the South China Sea.
The six-page “bilateral defense guidelines” issued in Washington on Wednesday are in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ongoing desire to alter the Mutual Defense Treaty with the former colonial ruler in the face of escalating tensions and maritime confrontation with China.
The proposals were the first since the pact’s inception in 1951, and came after hundreds of diplomatic complaints in the previous year over China’s “aggressive” actions and threats to its coast guard.
The bilateral treaty responsibilities would be triggered if either was attacked in the South China Sea or coast guard vessels were targeted, according to the orders.
Modern warfare, including China’s use of “grey zone tactics” to establish its sovereignty, was also featured. The guidelines made no mention of China.
“Recognizing that threats can emerge in multiple domains, including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace, and take the form of asymmetric, hybrid, and irregular warfare, as well as grey-zone tactics,” the Pentagon said.
Tensions between China and the United States have risen over the South China Sea, a vital trade route.
According to Rommel Ong, a former deputy commander of the Philippine navy and a professor at the Ateneo School of Government, the guidelines serve as a “warning” to China to refrain from assaulting the Philippine coast guard.
The security criteria, according to Julio Amador, head of Manila’s Foundation for the National Interest, a security think tank. “It’s obvious that it will give China pause.”
The Chinese foreign ministry cautioned on Thursday that bilateral defense treaties “should not be used as a hunting ground for external forces” in the South China Sea.
Marcos revealed the regulations in Washington this week after meeting with Joe Biden.
Marcos met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who assured him that “we will always have your back, whether in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region.”
In February, Marcos expanded US military access to his country’s bases, prompting China to accuse him of “stoking the fire” of regional animosity.
