Nov. 25 (EIRNS)—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.
Lorenzana expressed that “the fear of miscalculation is ever present, like the near collision of two frigates belonging to the U.S. and China two years ago…. If ever a shooting war happens, Philippines, which is right smack in the middle of the conflict, will be involved whether she likes it or not.”
On China, he said: “Everyone knows what President Duterte did to move the country towards China. Some say it’s good for the country, some say it is bad—that the tension in the South China Sea will continue to rise as China will continue to accuse the U.S. and other nations of provocation and other destabilization in the region.”
