MANILA, Philippines — Welcoming the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to further extend the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the United States on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the Philippines' sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
The West Philippine Sea is the part of the South China Sea within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone.
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US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Washington is looking forward to the VFA — termination of which has been suspended — continuing to facilitate closer cooperation in combatting terrorism.
"We also hope to expand our cooperation on a whole range of security challenges, from disaster relief to maritime security. Know that the United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Philippines," O'Brien said.
A few weeks ago, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that President Rodrigo Duterte decided to extend the suspension of the termination of the VFA with the US for another six months.
O'Brien is in Manila for the handover of Washington's donation of defense materials worth approximately P868 million ($18 million), which US President Donald Trump promsied to Duterte in a phone call in April.
WPS resources 'belong to the Philippine people'
Noting Washington's latest policy declaration on the South China Sea, O'Brien pointed out that the US had formally aligned its position on the maritime dispute with the Philippines' arbitral win in July 2016.
The landmark ruling invalidated China's expansive claims over the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea.
"We stand with the Philippines in protecting your sovereign rights, your offshore resources and all of those rights that are consistent with international law," O'Brien said.
O'Brien also reiterated the earlier remarks of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that any armed attack on Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea will trigger the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
"And I just want to say that those resources belong to the children and grandchildren of the people here. They belong to the Philippine people," the US official said.
"They don’t belong to some other country that just because might, they may be big, and they may be bigger than the Philippines, they can come take away and convert the resources of the Philippine people," he added.