US expression of support for PHL in ongoing territorial dispute with China, significant

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 13): US expression of support for PHL in ongoing territorial dispute with China, significant

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Monday called significant, US President Barack Obama's expression of support to the country in its ongoing spat with China regarding the South China Sea.

Gazmin said Obama's expression of support could be counted as such as the US was one of the world's most powerful countries and had openly expressed its support to the Philippines.

Earlier, Obama said China shouldn’t “elbow aside” countries it was in conflict with in the South China Sea, where the United States had sounded an alarm over Chinese construction on disputed islands.

“Where we get concerned with China is where it is not necessarily abiding by international norms and rules and is using its sheer size and muscle to force countries into subordinate positions, and that is the concern we have around maritime issues,” he said.

As this develops, Gazmin said that the Philippines would continue to file protests against China regarding the new structures it constructed on Mischief Reef.

He added that the country would continue to obey the rule of law when it comes to protecting its claim at the South China Sea.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=752465