Manila: The presidential palace said it welcomes an assurance made by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo that the United States will continue to provide support to the Philippines.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo in particular, said Pompeo assured the Philippines of support “if attacked by another country.”
“This was the first time that the US made a (clear) policy statement that any attack on the Philippines will trigger a US response,” Panelo said in a televised palace press briefing on Friday as he referred to an assurance given by Pompeo to President Rodrigo Duterte during the former’ visit in Manila.
“If you can recall that when the President Duterte assumed office in 2016, the then US Ambassador (Philip Goldberg) was asked the same question, he could not give a categorical answer,” Panelo said.
The assurance from Pompeo means, “We have your back,” Panelo quoted the US top official as saying during his meeting the Philippine leader on Thursday evening.
“That means, one, if we are attacked (by another country) they will be helping us. Number two, is that they will be providing us with arms,” Panelo said while pointing out that the weapons “will not free, we are going to buy it (from the US).”
The Philippines is a long-time ally of the United States. The latter used to be a colony of the former from the 1900s until 1935 when a commonwealth administration was established. Throughout the decades, Manila has been dependent on US protection and support.
But US expression of support had become ambivalent as Duterte had toed the tightrope of balancing the Philippines’ security and defence treaty commitments with the US and the need to maintain cordial relations with its increasingly aggressive next door neighbour, China.
Definitive
The recent assurance from Pompeo, who was due leave Manila on Friday after his two day visit to the Philippines, was definitive of the future of the Philippines-US security alliance.
Philippines-US relations revolves in major part to the Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) between the two countries.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said: “The key word is mutual; we have our end to hold up as well; and we need the means to do that from the United States. But ever and always there must be the sincere mutual desire to help and be helped,” Locsin said.
Locsin said the assurance from the US will also settle lingering calls within the government over the need to “review,” the provisions of the MDT.
“Some seek a review of the MDT. This requires further thought. In vagueness lies uncertainty: a deterrent. Specificity invites evasion and actions outside the MDT framework. But too much vagueness lends itself to doubt the firmness of commitments,” Locsin said, that in the meantime that the MDT is in force and is preventing other countries from encroaching on Philippine territory, the country will be building up its capacity to defend itself.
