US to keep security promise to Indo-Pacific allies: Top general

A top US general has assured Indo-Pacific nations that Washington will keep to its promise to ensure its allies' security, weeks after China's coast guard unfurled the nation's flag atop a sandbank also claimed by the Philippines in the South China Sea.

- Arvind Jayaram

Responding to a question from The Straits Times during a virtual press briefing on May 7, the US Army's Pacific commander, General Ronald Clark, said the US stood "shoulder to shoulder" with the Philippines in its territorial dispute with Beijing.

However, he stressed that he could not speak for the government in Manila, nor dictate what actions it might take.

"We have worked very closely with them – really day-to-day work – allowing for the dialogue necessary and the coordination necessary and interoperability between the Philippine armed forces and our own, to work through some of the challenges associated with some of the claims being made on their sovereign territory," said Gen Clark.