MANILA, Philippines — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday condemned China's dangerous actions against the Philippines and renewed a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the increasingly volatile waters.
During a visit to the Philippine province of Palawan next to the disputed South China Sea, Austin was asked if the strong U.S. military support to the Philippines would continue under incoming President Donald Trump, including $500 million in new military funding.
Austin expressed the belief that the strong alliance "will transcend" changes of administration.
"We stand with the Philippines, and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea," he said, using the acronym of China's official name.
He added: "The behavior of PRC has been concerning. They've used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims."
China has also had recent territorial spats with smaller coastal states, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, over the key global trade and security route. Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in long-unresolved disputes.
The outgoing Biden administration has taken steps to strengthen an arc of military alliances across the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan or in the South China Sea, which Beijing has claimed almost in its entirety.
That has dovetailed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s thrust to strengthen his country's external defenses, given an alarming escalation of territorial confrontations between Chinese and Filipinos forces in the South China Sea.
There has been intense speculation over how Trump would steer U.S. military engagements in Asia.
Marcos told reporters Tuesday that he congratulated Trump on his presidential election victory in a telephone call and renewed Philippine commitment to continue strengthening its alliance with the U.S.
"I expressed to him our continuing desire to strengthen that relationship between our two countries, which is a relationship that is as deep as can possibly be because it has been for a very long time," Marcos said.
Austin was speaking during a joint news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, in the military headquarters in Palawan.
They were given a demonstration of an unmanned vessel the U.S. has funded for use by the Philippine Navy for intelligence-gathering and defense surveillance.
Austin "reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the Philippines" and reiterated that the allies' Mutual Defense Treaty covers both countries' armed forces, public vessels and aircraft…"anywhere in the South China Sea."
He also reaffirmed his department's "commitment to bolstering the Philippines' defense capabilities and capacity to resist coercion," according to a joint statement.
Austin and Teodoro signed an agreement on Monday to secure from possible leakages the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons the U.S. would provide to Manila.
The Department of National Defense in Manila said the agreement aims to ensure the security of classified military information exchanges and would "allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States."
Neither side provided more details or released a copy of the agreement.
Two Philippine security officials, however, have told The Associated Press that such an agreement, similar to those Washington has signed with other allied countries, would allow the U.S. to provide the Philippines with higher-level intelligence and more sophisticated weapons, including missile systems.
It would also provide the Philippine military access to U.S. satellite and drone surveillance systems with an assurance that such intelligence and details about sophisticated weapons would be kept secure to prevent leaks, the two officials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue publicly.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing on Monday that no military agreement "should target any third party … nor should it undermine regional peace or exacerbate regional tensions."