Julio Amador, head of the Foundation for the National Interest, a Manila-based think-tank focusing on strategic and security issues, said of the security guidelines: “It’s clear that it will give China some pause.”
China’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it opposed the use of bilateral defence treaties to interfere in the South China Sea, which “should not be a hunting ground for external forces”.
The guidelines were released during a visit to Washington this week by Marcos, which included talks with counterpart Joe Biden.
Marcos also met Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who told him “we will always have your back, in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region”.
Ties with the United States have deepened under Marcos, who in February granted its military access to more of his country’s bases, prompting accusations from China that the deal was “stoking the fire” of regional tension.
