[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 816 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 12, 2024
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
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
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.
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.
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