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US President Joe Biden with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the bilateral meeting at the oval office of the White House in Washington D.C. on May 1, 2023. Kj Rosales, PPA/Pool

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Marcos Biden

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1713175140964171271539722220230502-marcos-biden-washington-PPA-7.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">US President Joe Biden with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the bilateral meeting at the oval office of the White House in Washington D.C. on May 1, 2023. <em>Kj Rosales, PPA/Pool</em></span></span></span></div><div><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><p>MANILA (UPDATED) — President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday that his country&#x27;s mutual defense treaty with the United States would be invoked if a &quot;foreign power&quot; killed a Filipino soldier.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/12/marcos-ph-us-can-defend-int-l-law-by-getting-closer-working-together-621" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" title="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/12/marcos-ph-us-can-defend-int-l-law-by-getting-closer-working-together-621">READ: Marcos: Philippines, US can defend international law by &#x27;getting closer, working together&#x27;</a> </div><p>Citing US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Marcos said the treaty would &quot;kick into action&quot; when a &quot;Filipino serviceman is killed because of an attack or an aggressive action by another foreign power&quot;.</p><p>Manila and Washington have been treaty allies since 1951 after the two countries signed a Mutual Defense Treaty, which guarantees that the two parties will come to the defense of the other in the event of an armed attack.</p><p>Earlier this week, the US and Japan vowed to pour in billions worth of investments to help the Philippines become more economically resilient amid China’s continued incursions and illegal actions in the South China Sea.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/6/marcos-ph-will-not-invoke-defense-treaty-with-us-despite-fresh-sea-tensions-1606" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" title="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/6/marcos-ph-will-not-invoke-defense-treaty-with-us-despite-fresh-sea-tensions-1606">READ: Marcos: PH will not invoke defense treaty with US despite fresh sea tensions</a></div><p>Marcos has repeatedly said that the Philippines would not “surrender a square inch” of Philippine territory under his watch.</p><p>The Philippines has filed diplomatic protests against China’s repeated incursions in its exclusive economic zone.</p><p>Despite this, China has continued to mount blockades, and even ban Filipino fisherfolk from sailing and fishing in the West Philippine Sea.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NO ADDITIONAL BASES</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Marcos said the Philippines will no longer give the United States more access to its military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA.</p><p>“The Philippines has no plan to open or to establish more EDCA bases,” Marcos said in a forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) in Manila.</p><p>The Philippines has already designated a total of 9 EDCA sites in various strategic military in the country, which allows the United States to position its facilities and equipment as part of efforts to promote “interoperability, maritime security, maritime domain awareness, capacity building and more expeditious Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response.”</p><p>China has opposed the establishment of the EDCA sites, accusing the Philippines and the United States of threatening the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.</p><p>“These are the reactions to what has happened in the South China Sea, to the aggressive actions that we have had to deal with: the water cannoning, the lasers, the collision, the blocking of our banca, our fishermen, the putting of barriers across Scarborough Shoal, this is a reaction to that,” Marcos said.</p><p>-with a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News</p><div></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday that his country's mutual defense treaty with the United States would be invoked if a "foreign power" killed a Filipino soldier.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday that his country's mutual defense treaty with the United States would be invoked if a "foreign power" killed a Filipino soldier.

Marcos says any Filipino soldier killed by 'foreign power' would invoke defense treaty with US

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Marcos says any Filipino soldier killed by 'foreign power' would invoke defense treaty with US

Agence France-Presse

Published April 15, 2024 06:26 PM PHT

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Updated April 16, 2024 12:31 AM PHT

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