We ask the United States for help if China attacks our warships in the South China Sea

Source: South China morning post | Editor: SS Kurniawan

KONTAN.CO.ID – MANILA. The Philippines will seek the help of the United States (US) if China attacks its Navy ships in the South China Sea, Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday (9/23).

Locsin’s comments mark the first time the Rodrigo Duterte Administration has publicly stated that it will seek the help of the United States, amid ongoing turmoil between the Philippines and China in disputed waters.

Locsin, who was present at the morning talk of the news channel African National CongressHe said the Philippines will continue air patrols over the South China Sea, despite Chinese calls to stop what it called “illegal provocations.”

“They can call it illegal provocation, you can’t change your mind. They have already lost through an arbitration award,” Locsin said, referring to a 2016 international court ruling that declared China had violated the Philippine maritime affairs in the Sea. of South China.

Read also: Chaotic South China Sea, Duterte indicated that the Philippines is closing in on the US.

“(But if) something happens that cannot be attacked, but it is actually an attack on, say, a Philippine Navy ship, (that) means that I will contact Washington DC,” he added. China South Morning Post.

However, Locsin refused to specify the request for assistance from the US, simply saying, “I am not going to discuss it because the essence of prevention theory is uncertainty.

The truth is that “I am very strict in protecting what is ours, I am very strict in never bowing my knees to China,” he emphasized.

Locsin spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month after Washington rejected China’s claim on a disputed resource-rich waterway that spends $ 3 trillion in trade.

Read also: South China Sea: an alarm for Taiwan, Indonesia is on high alert