In talks in Hawaii with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter 'reaffirm' the strong ties between the two countries and discuss territorial disputes in the contested waters of the South China Sea
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told his Philippine counterpart on Wednesday, May 27, that
In talks in Hawaii with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin,
the Pentagon chief "reaffirmed" the strong ties between the two
countries and discussed territorial disputes in the contested waters of the
South China Sea, where Beijing has been at
loggerheads with the Philippines
and other states in the region.
Citing Washington 's mutual defense treaty with Manila ,
Carter "stressed that the US
commitment to defend the Philippines
is ironclad," the Pentagon said in a statement.
The meeting came
as Carter embarks on a tour of Asia and amid rising tensions over Beijing 's massive effort to build artificial islands in
the South China Sea .
Carter and Gazmin
"agreed that all parties involved in the South China
Sea should seek a peaceful resolution of disputes, immediately
halt land reclamation, and stop further militarization of disputed
features," the statement said.
Manila has said it will keep
flying over disputed areas in the South China Sea despite Beijing 's warnings. And
this month, the Philippines took part in a
groundbreaking naval exercise with Japan, in a move aimed at
countering a rising China .
(READ: PH, Japan to discuss 'transfer
of military assets')
The Chinese
military last week ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon
surveillance plane to leave an area above the disputed Spratly islands
in the South China Sea . But the American
aircraft ignored the demand and said it was flying in what US officials
consider international airspace. (READ: China challenges US plane during
Balikatan war games and China continues to harass PH air
patrols in West PH Sea)
After his stop in
Hawaii , Carter is due to visit Singapore , Vietnam
and India
in his second tour of the region since taking over at the Pentagon in February.
"Over the
next 10 days, Carter will reaffirm the US rebalance to the
Asia-Pacific," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/94539-us-affirms-ironclad-promise-to-defend-philippines
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.