THE United States will continue to stand with the Philippines in the face of what it called China's aggression in the South China Sea that needs to be "pushed back appropriately."

In a meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), who led the US congressional delegation, assured President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Washington's support for Manila.

"We share your concern about China's aggression with regard to many of the issues around the Philippines. We stand with you and we want to continue to stand by you, and with you, and to push that aggression back appropriately," Gillibrand told Marcos.

PALACE VISIT President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomes members of the US congressional delegation. PPA POOL /MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Welcoming the delegation, the President said he hoped they would have a productive time discussing the "geopolitical complications" the Philippines faces.

The visit of the delegation, made up of six senators and a congressman, comes as the government filed a protest against China for firing water cannons at a Philippine boat on a resupply mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, damaging the ship and injuring four servicemen.

It also comes a few weeks ahead of a summit in Washington, D.C., in which US President Joe Biden will meet with Marcos and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about security issues in the region.

Gillibrand highlighted the economic and security partnership between the two countries.

"We're grateful for the steadfast partnership we had economically. We're grateful to have you as an ally. Each of those roles is essential for the United States, and we hope to continue to play those roles," she said.

The senator also pointed to the "strong friendship" between the two nations, with 4 million Filipinos living and working in the United States.

"We're very grateful for all the contributions the Filipino community has made in the United States.

"You're the forefront of health care; you're the forefront of tech; many of your countrymen have served in our armed services. And so, we're very grateful for all the contributions that Filipino Americans continue to make throughout the country."

Gillibrand said the two countries were at "a moment of extraordinary opportunity," especially for economic ties, whether they are in the fields of energy, rare earth minerals, or commerce.

She also said they wanted to build on the visit by a delegation sent by President Biden and led by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Other members of the delegation were Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-New York 13th District).

Gangster logic

Meanwhile, China once again claimed the Philippines had promised to tow away the grounded BRP Sierra Made from the Ayungin Shoal "20 years ago" and accused the United States and other countries of engaging in "gangster logic" in defending Manila.

Philippine officials, both past and present, have denied this undocumented Chinese claim of a promise to tow away the BRP Sierra Madre, and the President said that even if it could be proved, he would repudiate such an agreement.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the BRP Sierra Madre is a commissioned Philippine naval vessel permanently stationed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a "constant Philippine government presence" in the area in response to China's "illegal occupation" in 1995 of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said the relations between China and the Philippines are now at "a crossroads" and urged the Philippines to "act prudently."

"China once again demands that the Philippine side take China's concerns seriously and stop its wrongdoing before it is too late," Chen said in a statement shared by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

The embassy said Chen had a phone call on Monday with DFA Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro to lodge a protest against the Philippines' "illegal resupply" mission to BRP Sierra Madre and other issues.

Lazaro conveyed the Philippines' protest over the China Coast Guard's use of water cannons against the Philippine vessel, which brought heavy damage to the ship and injured four Filipinos.

Also on Tuesday, the Liberal Party denounced China's latest actions around Ayungin Shoal.

"We strongly condemn China's water bombing of a Philippine ship that was to bring supplies to soldiers that are based in the Ayungin Shoal and the threats that we must 'prepare for the consequences' of our actions in the West Philippine Sea," said LP chairman and former senator Francis Pangilinan, writing in Filipino on the X social media platform. "China does not have a right to threaten us, especially that the Ayungin Shoal is within Philippine territory."

"If China is serious about bringing peace to the region, it should stop harassing Philippine ships that are just sailing within our waters," he added. "We also call on China to respect the ruling of the arbitral tribunal that ignored its claim to a large part of the sea that belongs to the Philippines."

LP spokesman and former senator Leila de Lima also posed a question to Filipino propagandists defending Beijing.

"To our countrymen who are Chinese propagandists: Can your conscience still defend China?" she asked on X. "Amid heightened threats and bullying by China, each Filipino cannot but be a patriot."

WITH ARIC JOHN SY CUA AND BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

Read The Rest at :