(Eagle News)–Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. believes there is no need to review the Mutual Defense Treaty to ensure the United States will come to its aid should China attack the Asian country over the dispute in the South China Sea.
“In vagueness lies the best deterrence,” Locsin said in a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, March 1.
“We are very assured, very confident the US, as in the words of Secretary Pompeo, (US) President Trump to our President, ”We have your back,'” Locsin said.
Pompeo, for his part, said the “commitments” of the US under the MDT were “real.”
He said the South China Sea was “certainly” a vital part of the seas where freedom of navigation should prevail, and “making sure the seas remain open for the world.., we remain committed to supporting the Philippines in that effort..”
The MDT, which states the US would come to the aid of the Philippines in the event of an attack on “metropolitan Philippines” and vice versa, was signed between the Philippines and the US in 1951, at the time there were US bases in the country.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has said the “metropolitan Philippines” cited in the treaty should be more defined, saying the same may be interpreted as not including the Philippine-occupied areas in the South China Sea.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano has also said there was a need to review the treaty to ensure it reflects the realities on the ground.