On the sixth anniversary of the arbitral ruling invalidating China’s massive claim in the South China Sea on Tuesday, July 12, the United States called on Beijing to stop its provocative acts in the region and reaffirmed its commitment to defend treaty ally Philippines against any armed attack. “The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020, policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea. We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Lee-Brago, P., & Romero, P. (2022, July 13). US to China: Stop provocative acts in SCS. The Philippine Star, p. 3.