MANILA - Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma on Tuesday said the United States is fulfilling its commitments as far as the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement and the principles of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) are concerned. The Palace spokesman said it is inappropriate for him to comment on the deployment of the USS George Washington, a US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to Hong Kong. "It is their call on how to deploy their assets in the region....It is not appropriate for me to speak for the actions of the US. Our concern is the stability and the peace within our scope of jurisdiction," he said. However, he added: "We hope our allies will do what they said will do and will fulfill their commitments in the appropriate time and when actually needed." The Philippines earlier said that China's "expansion agenda" in the disputed South China Sea threatened security and stability in the region, calling on all claimant states to halt construction activities that may raise tensions. Albert del Rosario, foreign affairs secretary, said he supported U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel's proposal for China and Southeast Asian states to get together for dialogue. Del Rosario said China and other claimant states have been rushing construction activities in their respective claimed territories to expand, citing works in Fiery Cross Reef, Johnson South Reef, Gaven Reef, and Cuarteron Reef. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, believed to have huge oil-and-gas deposits and rich in fishery resources. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims over the sea where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year. ANC HEADSTART, JUNE 17, 2014
