August 28, 2024

Amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea caused by the Philippines' repeated provocations over Chinese islands and reefs, a high-ranking US military officer has announced the US' willingness to hold consultations on escorting Philippine ships in the region, a move Chinese experts said on Wednesday will only fan the flames and encourage Manila to make more infringing provocations.

Citing the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines, Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said at an international military conference in Manila on Tuesday that the US military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the South China Sea, the AP reported on Wednesday.

Attending the conference together with Paparo, General Romeo Brawner Jr, chief of Philippine Armed Forces, responded cautiously to the suggestion, reported the AP, which quoted a previous remark by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as saying that there has been no situation so far that would warrant activating the treaty.

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