ISTANBUL
China on Tuesday urged the US and the Philippines, two treaty allies, to “not target” third parties.
“Any cooperation between the US and the Philippines should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference in Beijing.
He was responding to a question on the US’ commitment to Philippine security, which was reiterated during a meeting between US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and visiting Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in Washington, DC.
Manila is Washington’s oldest military ally in the Asia-Pacific region, where it hosts US soldiers and has given access to the American military to use Filipino military bases.
The two have had a mutual defense treaty since 1951.
"Our storied Alliance has never been stronger or more essential than it is today. Together, we remain committed to the mutual defense treaty," Hegseth said when meeting Marcos.
The vessels of China and the Philippines have witnessed several encounters in disputed waters of the mineral-rich South China Sea, where the two have overlapping claims.