Embassy official clarifies statement
US embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson on Sunday took exception to an Inquirer headline, “US not coming to PH aid versus China.”
In a text message, Thompson clarified: “When I said, ‘The US does not take sides in regional territorial disputes,’ I was talking about the current dispute over boundaries—an issue separate from what the US would do in the hypothetical event of conflict.”
“As we’ve said repeatedly, these issues need to be resolved peacefully within the framework of international law,” she said.
On Saturday, Thompson said in an e-mailed statement that Washington was “troubled by incidents in the South China Sea in recent days that have raised tensions in the region” and that the United States opposed “the use or threat of force” by any of the countries with rival claims to the Spratly Islands.
The Inquirer had contacted Thompson for comment on President Aquino’s deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte’s invoking of the 1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty. Valte told state radio on Saturday that under the treaty, Manila could count on Washington’s support if the situation with Beijing deteriorated.
Signed on Aug. 13, 1951, in Washington, the Mutual Defense Treaty provides:
Article continues after this advertisement“Article IV. Each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.
Article continues after this advertisement“Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall be immediately reported to the Security Council of the United Nations. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.
“Article V. For purposes of Article IV, an armed attack on either of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean, its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.”
