US on securing Asia: We're not going anywhere

Asia-Pacific remains Washington's "priority theater of operations," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday, noting "the United States can be secure only if Asia is."

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"We are all in and we're not going anywhere," Austin said at the ShangriLa Dialogue, a major security forum attended by defense officials from around the world.

The Philippines, a US treaty ally, is a key focus of Washington's efforts to build an arc of alliances across the region.

Given its position in the South China Sea and proximity to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, Philippine support would be crucial for the US in the event of any conflict.

The Philippines has increased to nine the number of military bases open to US troops under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the two countries. At least two of the bases are in the Philippines' far north less than 450 kilometers from Taiwan.

Austin insisted yesterday that Washington's commitment to defend the Philippines under their mutual defense treaty remained "ironclad," as repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea have stoked fears of a wider conflict.

President Marcos, who keynoted the security forum, said on Friday that the "stabilizing presence of the United States is crucial to regional peace." In his own speech, Austin lauded how Marcos "spoke so powerfully last night about how the Philippines is standing up for its sovereign rights under international law." But when pressed later, he would not say how the US might react if a Filipino were killed in a confrontation with China, calling it hypothetical.