US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday vowed military support for the Philippines, delivering a firm message from the deck of a US warship at a time of rising tensions with China.
On a steaming hot day in Manila Bay, Clinton boarded the USS Fitzgerald, a US Navy destroyer based in California, as she signed a declaration marking 60 years since Washington signed a security treaty with its former colony.
Clinton promised a wide-ranging commitment to the Philippines from military to economic cooperation, saying that the US wanted to update its historic alliances to meet the “new challenges” of the 21st century.
Photo: EPA
“We must ensure that this alliance remains strong, capable of delivering results for the people of the Philippines and the United States, and our neighbors throughout the Pacific,” Clinton said.
Speaking later at a press conference, Clinton put the alliance in terms that many Filipinos might better appreciate — praising boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, affectionately known in his native land as “Pacman.”
“I am a major Pacman fan,” Clinton said. “In the spirit of the sport and his success, let me say, the United States will always be in the corner of the Philippines and we will stand and fight with you.”
Clinton only indirectly mentioned China, which the Philippines and Vietnam accuse of increasingly aggressive tactics in the South China Sea, and said that the US did not take any position on territorial disputes, but Clinton referred to the South China Sea by her hosts’ preferred name — the West Philippine Sea — and said that the US wanted to assist Manila in defending its maritime boundaries.
“Any nation with a claim has a right to exert it, but they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion,” she said.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario, speaking alongside Clinton on the USS Fitzgerald, said that Clinton’s visit and the accompanying statement sent a strong signal on the disputes.
The statement “attests to the vitality of our alliance, especially at a time when the Philippines is facing challenges on its territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
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