Lorenzana to discuss defense treaty with US counterpart

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, now in the United States for a United Nations conference, is set to discuss the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with his American counterpart.

Lorenzana, who is pushing a review of the decades-old defense treaty, said the matter would definitely be on the table in his meeting with acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan in Washington next week. He did not reveal the exact date of the meeting or other possible agenda items.

“Yes,” was Lorenzana’s reply when asked if he intends to discuss with Shanahan his proposal for a review of the MDT.

The Philippine defense chief has long been pushing for a review of the MDT to make it more attuned to the current security environment in the South China Sea.

Lorenzana is in New York for the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting on Uniformed, Capabilities, Performance and Protection.

He said his meeting with Shanahan was arranged at the last minute.

Earlier, a senior US official said there’s no official request from either side to review the defense treaty.

But just the same, Patrick Murphy, the US Department of State Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia (PDAS), said the Philippines and the US have been regularly discussing the treaty.

“There is no request from either side to renegotiate the treaty. That said, we have frequent discussions and talks in appropriate channels with appropriate mechanism on a regular basis about the treaty,” Murphy, who was in Hawaii last week, said in a teleconference with foreign and local media.

In pushing for a review of the MDT, Lorenzana cited “ambiguities” that may have emboldened China to seize areas within Philippine territory in the West Philippine Sea without firing a shot.

He said the MDT specifically states the US would come to the defense of the Philippines if the latter is attacked.

China has been deploying civilian ships in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea to help its forces undertake island building activities or intimidate Filipino fishermen and coast guard vessels.

The Chinese strategy of intimidation without firing a single shot has rendered the MDT ineffective, he said.