The United States of America Department of State issued a statement on April 29 calling upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct in the South China Sea.
The State Department reiterated that the United States stands with the Philippines in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s continued infringement upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
According to the State Department, imagery and video recently published in the media is a stark reminder of PRC harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone. The State Department added the U.S. continues to track and monitor these interactions closely.
Further, the State Department also reiterated that the U.S. stands with its Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea, on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
