“Our commitment to defend the Philippines is iron-clad,” Obama told Philippine and US troops in Fort Bonifacio Monday morning, as a multiethnic backdrop of camouflaged soldiers stood behind him on stage.
It was a reiteration of a message he delivered at the state dinner in Malacañang Palace on Monday night.
“Through our treaty alliance, the United States has an iron clad commitment to defend you, your security and your independence,” Obama told an audience of dignitaries in the presidential palace, including President Aquino, referring to the 1951 mutual defense treaty between the two nations.
On Monday morning, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in Camp Aguinaldo, which will enlarge the presence of US troops in the Philippines, purportedly the latest step in the US’ so-called Asian pivot.
Non-committal
US officials have long been non-committal about the US response to any Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Obama himself said at a press conference with President Aquino on Monday that the US does not take sides in disputes over territory in Asia’s cauldron of tensions, and did not cite any instances where the US would take up arms to defend the Philippines.
Analysts have been skeptical that the US would get involved in any armed confrontation over disputed reefs and islets in the South China Sea.
In Fort Bonifacio, Obama added that international law must be upheld and that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully and not by intimidation and force. The US president is in Manila for a two-day state visit.
