MANILA, Philippines — U.S. forces are obliged to help defend Filipino troops, ships or aircraft under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if they come under attack in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said, citing past American assurances.
The potentially oil- and gas-rich Spratly Islands have long been regarded as one of Asia’s possible flash points for conflict. China, the Philippines and Vietnam have been trading barbs and diplomatic protests recently over overlapping territorial claims, reigniting tension.
Complicating the issue is the role the United States could play in resolving the disputes. A Mutual Defense Treaty signed by U.S. and Philippine officials in Aug. 30, 1951, calls on each country to help defend the other against an external attack by an aggressor in their territories or in the Pacific region.
Amid renewed tensions in the Spratlys, questions have emerged whether the treaty would apply if ill-equipped Philippine forces come under attack in the islands, all of which are claimed by China. Parts also are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a policy paper that the treaty requires Washington to help defend Filipino forces if they come under attack in the Spratlys, citing U.S. diplomatic dispatches that defined the Pacific region under the treaty as including the South China Sea. The South China Sea was not specifically mentioned in the pact.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario also said American officials have made clear that Washington would respond in case Filipino forces come under attack in the South China Sea.
Del Rosario said he would discuss the Spratly disputes, along with issues related to the 1951 defense treaty, and other regional security concerns with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when they meet today.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila declined to discuss details of when the pact would apply.
“As a strategic ally, the United States honors our Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines,” said Alan Holst, acting public affairs officer at the embassy. “We will not engage in discussion of hypothetical scenarios.”
The defense treaty, which came into force in 1952, defined an attack as an armed assault on “the metropolitan territory of the parties” or their “armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.”
While the U.S. has a policy of not interfering in territorial disputes, the Philippine paper said “it may be construed that any attack on our vessels, armed forces or aircraft in the Spratlys would make the treaty applicable and accordingly obligate the U.S. to act to meet the common dangers.”
China has urged the United States to stay out of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, saying they should be resolved through bilateral negotiations.
On Wednesday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai warned that Washington risks getting drawn into a conflict should tensions in the region escalate further.
Washington views the sea lanes in the area as strategically important.
“If the United States does want to play a role, it may counsel restraint to those countries that have frequently been taking provocative action and ask them to be more responsible in their behavior,” Cui said.
He later said, “I believe that individual countries are actually playing with fire, and I hope that fire will not be drawn to the United States.”
The Philippines has accused China of intruding at least six times in Manila-claimed areas in and near the Spratlys since February
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