The US reiterated its support for the Philippines against China

The US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense visited the Philippines and reaffirmed their support for the Philippines in the process.

According to French International News on July 30, after the visit to Japan, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Manila on Tuesday. During the visit, they held talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. In the process, the Philippines emphasized improving its defense capabilities to counter China.

Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin then held talks with Philippine Foreign Minister Manalo and Defense Secretary Teodoro. The purpose of the talks is to strengthen the defense relationship between the United States and the Philippines and reaffirm the unwavering support of the United States in countering China's destabilizing actions in the South China Sea and other regions.

It is reported that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the Philippines after the security talks and the "Four-State Security Dialogue" foreign ministers meeting in Japan.

This is the first time the Philippines has held talks with the United States. In 1951, the United States and the Philippines signed the "United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty".

Blinken said: "This time, a series of meetings in the Philippines demonstrated the high-level commitment between the two countries. We sincerely appreciate this kind of cooperative relationship.''

China has repeatedly claimed that the islands belong to China over the years. In 1999, the Philippine Navy deliberately moored a warship here, prompting China to tow it away. Philippine operations to deliver supplies to military personnel stationeel.d on the warships have often led to clashes with Chinese coast guard vessels. Such frequent clashes damaged Philippine supply ships and injured several Filipino personnel.