“WE have to thank the President because very clearly, we need to have like-minded nations like the U.S., that are militarily powerful to help us. And since we have the 1952 Mutual Defense Treaty, we have that particular treaty that will make a mutual defense with us. Any attack on Philippine vessels, armed forces, will trigger the mechanism for the support of the United States,” Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.
“We have to have like-minded nations to be with us. For in international law, if you have support from other countries, it is a deterrence. We are not going to make a fight with China. It will help deter more actions of China, which may even aggravate if we don’t have any support from like-minded nations,” he added.
“We do not expect war to happen. Not in this generation. China has to think about its own welfare before plunging into war. Because if they will do that with Taiwan or the Philippines, there are likeminded allies who will not also just stand by. So, because of that deterrence and our international support from likeminded countries, China will not be able to wage war. That is how I see it for our land,” Rodriguez continued. PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY 10
