The Philippines and the United States of America work to broaden the interpretation of the mutual defense treaty (MDT) between the two countries in order 'not to fall into China's trap'.
Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro said that the Philippines does not want to be constrained by definitive statements no longer fit with the situation.
"Huwag tayong ma-canalize sa narrow definitions ng MDT. Iyan ang ayaw natin. Laging paulit-ulit na armed attack, armed attack," Teodoro told reporters on Tuesday, August 27, during the sidelines of US Indo-Pacific Command conference in Manila.
Teodoro insisted on the need to tailor the interpretations of the MDT to reflect the 'dynamism' in the West Philippine Sea.
"We are getting narrowed down by a wooden definition of an armed attack on a public vessel, and the public gets fixated on that," the DND chief said
"Is a cyberattack as bad as an armed attack? I think it is. Why will we fixate on attack? Why don't we concentrate on deterrence on the MDT," he stressed.
Teodoro made the remarks after Chinese ships rammed and used a water cannon on a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel, BRP Datu Sanday, near the Escoda Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
The MDT, which the Philippines and the United States entered in 1951, requires both countries to extend assistance to the other in case on an armed attack.
