[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 142 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 816--RECOGNIZING THE 73RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING 
    OF THE MUTUAL DEFENSE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
PHILIPPINES AND THE STRONG BILATERAL SECURITY ALLIANCE BETWEEN OUR TWO 
  NATIONS IN THE WAKE OF PERSISTENT AND ESCALATING AGGRESSION BY THE 
           PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

  Mr. RICKETTS (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. 
Kaine, Mr. Cruz, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Romney) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 816

       Whereas the United States and the Philippines have 
     maintained diplomatic relations for 78 years, founded on the 
     basis of deeply interconnected strategic and economic 
     interests and close bonds between our two populations;
       Whereas the United States-Philippines partnership was 
     forged in blood, as more than 20,000 Americans and hundreds 
     of thousands of Filipinos were killed during the Philippines 
     campaigns during World War II;
       Whereas, following the Japanese invasion and occupation of 
     the Philippines from 1941 to 1945, the former United States 
     commonwealth secured its official independence on July 4, 
     1946;
       Whereas, in March 1947, the United States and the 
     Philippines signed a Military Bases Agreement;
       Whereas, on August 30, 1951, the United States and the 
     Philippines signed a Mutual Defense Treaty;
       Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty makes clear the United 
     States-Philippine collective intent to resolve international 
     disputes peacefully, undertake separate and joint development 
     of the capacity to resist attack, and consult with one 
     another when the territorial integrity, political 
     independence, or security of the United States or the 
     Philippines is under threat of external armed attack in the 
     Pacific;
       Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty is the foundation of our 
     security alliance and all other enabling defense agreements 
     between the United States and the Philippines, including the 
     Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement;
       Whereas the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement allows 
     for a strengthened United States military presence in the 
     Philippines to increase bilateral cooperation and 
     interoperability and to provide training to the Armed Forces 
     of the Philippines, with increased rotation of United States 
     military personnel and assistance devoted to strengthening 
     the territorial defense and humanitarian and maritime 
     operations of the Philippines;
       Whereas, in February 2023, the United States and the 
     Philippines committed to designating four additional 
     locations under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, 
     increasing the total from five to nine;
       Whereas those locations have strategic value for the United 
     States and the Philippines, increase confidence in the 
     alliance, and provide real opportunities for operational 
     cooperation to advance shared security priorities;
       Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty serves as a deterrent 
     against the increasing territorial aggression by the People's 
     Republic of China in the South China Sea;
       Whereas, in 2009, the People's Republic of China began 
     unlawfully extending its territorial and sovereignty claims 
     in the South China Sea under its ``nine-dash line'' 
     construct, violating the territorial rights and 
     internationally recognized exclusive economic zones of the 
     Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam;
       Whereas, since 2014, the People's Republic of China has 
     substantially expanded its ability to monitor and project 
     power throughout the South China Sea via the construction of 
     militarized artificial islands;
       Whereas, on September 25, 2015, at the White House, 
     President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping stated 
     that ``China does not intend to pursue militarization'' of 
     the Spratly Islands and China's outposts would not ``target 
     or impact any country'';
       Whereas, on July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal 
     constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention 
     on the Law of the Sea unanimously decided to invalidate the 
     People's Republic of China's claim to nearly 90 percent of 
     the South China Sea, including areas determined by the 
     tribunal to be part of the Philippines' exclusive economic 
     zone and continental shelf;
       Whereas, despite the decision being final and legally 
     binding, the People's Republic of China, which refused to 
     participate in the arbitration, has continued to reject and 
     further violate the decision;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China has employed a 
     variety of assertive and aggressive tactics against the 
     Philippines, including through its coast guard, research 
     vessels, and commercial maritime vessels, to coerce and 
     enforce its arbitrary and unlawful territorial claims in the 
     South China Sea, such as by ramming, shadowing, blocking, 
     encircling, firing water cannons at, and using military-grade 
     lasers against Philippine civilian ships and military 
     vessels;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China has repeatedly 
     denied the Philippines from lawfully delivering humanitarian 
     supplies to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines 
     stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal;
       Whereas, on June 17, 2024, coast guard sailors from the 
     People's Republic of China brandished knives and other 
     weapons in a clash with Philippine naval vessels attempting 
     to resupply marines on Second Thomas Shoal, resulting in a 
     severe injury to a member of the Armed Forces of the 
     Philippines;
       Whereas, on August 8, 2024, the People's Republic of China 
     dangerously and provocatively dropped flares in the path of a 
     Philippine Air Force aircraft conducting a routine patrol 
     over the Scarborough Shoal;
       Whereas, on August 19, 2024, People's Republic of China 
     Coast Guard vessels performed aggressive maneuvers in the 
     South China Sea, recklessly colliding with and damaging two 
     Philippine Coast Guard vessels near the Sabina Shoal;
       Whereas, on August 27, 2024, the Commander of the United 
     States Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, said the 
     United States military is open to consultations with the 
     Philippines about escorting Philippine ships delivering food 
     and other supplies to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 
     the South China Sea;
       Whereas, on August 31, 2024, a People's Republic of China 
     Coast Guard ship rammed a Philippine Coast Guard ship, the 
     BRP Teresa Magbanua, three times without any provocation, 
     causing damage to the Philippine ship near the Sabina Shoal; 
     and
       Whereas August 30, 2024, marked the 73rd anniversary of the 
     signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United 
     States and the Philippines: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) celebrates the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the 
     Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the 
     Philippines and the longstanding alliance between our two 
     nations;
       (2) appreciates the trust of the Philippine people in the 
     bilateral alliance and their support for increased defense 
     cooperation and United States military presence in the 
     Philippines;
       (3) acknowledges the determination of the Philippine people 
     and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to resist coercion by 
     the People's Republic of China;
       (4) condemns the People's Republic of China's persistent 
     and unprovoked aggression in the South China Sea to enforce 
     its unlawful territorial and sovereignty claims;
       (5) reaffirms that Article IV of the Mutual Defense Treaty 
     extends to armed attacks on the Armed Forces, public vessels, 
     or aircraft of the Philippines, including the Philippine 
     Coast Guard, anywhere in the South China Sea;
       (6) considers aggression by the People's Republic of China 
     in the Philippines' internationally recognized exclusive 
     economic zone to be a direct assault on its sovereignty and 
     territorial integrity;
       (7) urges the President to take appropriate and necessary 
     actions in response to escalatory behavior of the People's 
     Republic of China in order to restore deterrence and help the 
     Philippines defend itself;
       (8) supports the unwavering commitment of the United States 
     to deepening security cooperation with the Philippines, 
     including advancing Philippine defense modernization and 
     enhancing interoperability through military exercises, 
     training, joint patrols, and increased information sharing;
       (9) supports other nations growing their political and 
     security partnerships with the Philippines;
       (10) commits to advance cooperation among the United 
     States, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Australia; 
     and
       (11) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the 
     right to freedom of navigation and overflight, respecting 
     maritime rights under international law, and ensuring a free 
     and open Indo-Pacific.

                          ____________________