Press Statement from the Government of the United States

Given the recent extraordinary tensions between the Philippines and China, the United States has deployed Carrier Group 7— which includes a group of warships  in addition to an air craft carrier—to the port of San Fernando in the Philippines. This carrier group will be fully armed with fighter aircraft, naval bombardment capabilities, and anti-submarine weapons systems among others and will be utilized, if necessary, to fulfill the honoring of our Mutual Defense Treaty commitments in the Philippines if hostile forces begin military incursions against our ally in Southeast Asia. The United States is prepared to take whatever action is necessary in order to ensure that our allies are protected and defended and will not hesitate in future actions to uphold our treaty commitments.