It is even “more critical” now for the United States to show support for the Philippines in its dispute with China over the South China Sea region, according to former US Ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte. Negroponte, who was the US ambassador here from 1993 to 1996, said the two countries shared a common concern about the South China Sea “jurisdictional disputes” and warned that if the problem is not managed properly, it “could lead to serious miscalculations.” The Philippines submitted a case against China with the UN tribunal in 2013 to challenge Beijing’s’s nine-dash-line claim on its maps which the latter has used as a basis to claim almost the entire South China Sea region, including areas considered to be under the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Avedaño, C. O. (2015, February 5). US toughens stand on sea row. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A2.