MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:46 p.m.) — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday disclosed that China attempted to oppose the efforts of the Philippines and the United States to revisit the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Speaking at an online forum organized by Stratbase ADR Institute, Lorenzana said the United States welcomed the move but "an outside party does not."
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"When I first brought the idea of revisiting the MDT, the former Chinese ambassador (Zhao Jianhua) came to me and said, 'Please do not touch the MDT. Leave it as it is,'" Lorenzana said.
On moving forward with the decades-old MDT, Lorenzana suggested a multilateral approach to the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea.
The defense chief noted how Beijing has used "grey zone tactics" in the region, such as deploying maritime militia ships to assert its so-called claims.
Lorenzana cited the incident in Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef earlier this year, where more than 200 Chinese militia ships were spotted.
"Is the US freedom of navigation operations or FONOPs effective in stopping China from pursuing its designs in the South China Sea? One suggestion that has been out to the table is to revise the MDT to address all or most of the concerns enumerated above," Lorenzana said.
Earlier this month, Lorenzana called for a "comprehensive review" of the decades-long treaty due to evolving "geopolitical realities."
For Washington's part, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava said the treaty "enshrines our shared security commitment to address challenges together, including in the West Philippine Sea."
"Those whose actions or prononouncements fly in the face of international law should know that the United States and the Philippines stand together shoulder-to-shoulder," Variava said.
Is the MDT still relevant?
Lorenzana pointed out that the security environment in the region has changed since the Philippines and the US signed the defense treaty 70 years ago.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez further noted that security threats have evolved since the two countries signed the defense pact.
While Washington has repeatedly assued Manila that any armed attack on Philippine forces in the West Philippine Sea will invoke the MDT, Romualdez said the treaty has never been invoked due to the lack of an external attack.
"Let me stress, however, that not having the condition for its applicability does not render the treaty irrelevant," Romualdez said in the same online forum.
The Philippine envoy added that both countries should be lauded for their commitment under the MDT to settle any disputes using peaceful means.
"Neither does the continued absence of conflict mean that the Philippines can bide its time in beefing up its own defense capabilities," Romualdez said.
As the Philippines and the US commemorated the 75th year of their diplomatic ties and the 70th year of the MDT, Romualdez stressed that there is a "need ro refresh" the alliance "to keep up with the times."
Romualdez bared that the Philippines is hoping to sit down with the US and discuss its proposal of a multi-year plan to modernize the country's military and defense capability.
"It is high time for the treaty to live up to its name. We have to mutually be able to defend each other," Romualdez said.