MANILA—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured the Philippines on March 1 it would come to its defense if it came under attack in the South China Sea, reaffirming a defense code that Manila’s security chiefs have sought to revise.
Speaking during a stopover after a summit in Hanoi with North Korea, Pompeo said a 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty would be adhered to if its ally was a victim of aggression, and singled out China as a threat to stability.
