Philippines' president calls on US defense pact to back him in a naval fight with Beijing in the South China Sea
Alex Lockie
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Rodrigo Duterte, the firebrand president of the Philippines, on Wednesday called on the US to send warships to defend the island nation against Chinese military aggression as part of a decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty.
A Chinese vessel is accused of ramming a Filipino fishing boat in the Philippines' waters and leaving the fishers for dead.
It's unclear if this attack can be cleanly pinned on China or if the Philippines can demand a US armed response, but the US is under a lot of pressure to flex its muscles, and the Philippines is a key ally that, under Duterte, is increasingly unpredictable.
China routinely ignores international law as it militarizes artificial islands it built in international waters in the South China Sea, and it has frequently threatened US ships.
https://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-president-duterte-naval-clash-with-china-2019-7?r=US&IR=T%27
