MANILA— Top US diplomat Marco Rubio on Thursday said the latest water cannon incident involving China against a Filipino vessel at Scarborough Shoal is disturbing.
The water cannon incident in the West Philippine Sea occurred as diplomats of many countries are convening for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Manila.
"What's happened with the Philippines, you know, obviously we saw that too. The whole world saw it. And it's disturbing," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
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"These challenges and these claims of sovereignty over territory are a growing challenge. That's why we continue to reiterate our commitment to our treaty partners, but also our commitment to freedom of navigation and respect for territorial rights in the region," Rubio added.
The incident happened a few days after a baton attack that wounded two Filipino Navy personnel.
Rubio attended several meetings during the Post Ministerial Conferences, emphasizing the push for freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
"It's one of the cornerstones of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific, and especially via ASEAN. And I made that point in every forum that we've had here," Rubio said.
Rubio reiterated US support for the Philippines as a treaty ally.
"I mean, the United States and the Philippines have a treaty. And so we will live by that treaty. We're committed to supporting our treaty partners. And, you know, obviously, we've already done quite a bit," Rubio said.
"In fact, there was a US Coast Guard vessel in the region at the time that this happened and actually helped stand between the two sides and allowed the individual who was injured to be rescued and brought back for medical treatment."
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"So we are already here. We're already present. We have a role, and we're not going to abandon our allies," he added.
Rubio said good relationship with China will not come at the the expense of their allies.
"We've made that abundantly clear. We're going to have to have a good relationship with China. Okay, these are the two most powerful economies in the world, two large militaries, two nuclear powers. We have to have a relationship with China, and we want it to be as positive as it possibly can be," Rubio said.
"But that won't come at the expense of our allies and our partners in the region or our presence here either," he added.