WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged to defend Philippine vessels if they are attacked in the South China Sea, as Beijing and Manila pointed fingers at each other after a China Coast Guard ship fired water cannons at a Philippine boat.
In a Tuesday call with his Philippine counterpart, Austin reaffirmed the "ironclad nature of the U.S.-Philippines alliance," and committed to redouble efforts to strengthen bilateral training, interoperability, and support for the modernization of the Philippine military, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said in a readout.
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