NMC calls for updating PH-US MDT to address China's activities

The National Maritime Council (NMC) suggests reviewing the Philippines' and United States' Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), signed in 1951, to address modern security challenges.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. noted that the MDT's provisions need updating, particularly regarding armed attacks, to better respond to China's activities in the West Philippine Sea.

NMC spokesperson Alexander Lopez emphasized the necessity of adapting the treaty to current strategic realities and dismissed China's claims about Filipino personnel falling overboard during an incident at Escoda Shoal.

According to Lopez, evidence shows that BFAR vessel BRP Datu Sanday faced aggressive maneuvers from multiple Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels while en route to Escoda Shoal within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Lopez highlighted the international community's condemnation of CCG's actions as life-threatening and aggressive, and stressed the need for a broader interpretation of the MDT to address dynamic security challenges.