US ready to arm RP amid China tension
By Michaela P. del Callar 06/25/2011The United States will stand by the Philippines against any armed threat in the region amid heightened tensions in the disputed South China Sea, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, adding that it is providing the country with affordable weaponry to counter attacks.
Describing its partnership with the Philippines as a “critical alliance,” Clinton stressed that the US will honor its obligations under the 60-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty with the country.
“I’m not going to discuss hypothetical events, but I want to underscore our commitment to the defense of the Philippines,” Clinton told a joint press conference in Washington with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.
The Philippines and Vietnam traded allegations with China for intruding in its claimed territories, reigniting tensions in the potentially gas and oil-rich region also claimed by Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110625hed2.html
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