The United States warned it would defend the Philippines against any attack as Beijing boasted of chasing away a US warship from islands it claims in the South China Sea.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave the warning yesterday on the fifth anniversary of an international court ruling that dismissed Chinese claims to ownership of the South China Sea. It was issued as a naval destroyer, the USS Benfold, sailed close to the Paracel Islands in a symbolic rejection of Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over the area.
“The People’s Republic of China continues to coerce and intimidate southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway,” Blinken said. “We call on the PRC to abide by its obligations under
