Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana warned today that the tension in the South China Sea between the U.S. and China could lead to a war at any moment, and said that the Philippines would be involved “whether she likes it or not.”
His statement came a day after U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien visited the Philippines, presenting Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. with $18 million in precision guided munitions as a gift from the U.S. for the war on terror, which still threatens the province of Mindanao. While there, O’Brien reiterated Pompeo’s line that the U.S. would “defend” the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
