(VOVWORLD) - The US will stand by the Philippines in maintaining a maritime order based on rules, free trade, and respect for international laws, including maritime and aviation freedom, said US Vice President Kamala Harris at a meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos on Monday.
 US Vice President Kamala Harris and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos. (Photo: AP)
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Harris stressed the importance of the two countries’ relationship in finance and security and welcomed extended cooperation with the Philippines for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
She said an attack on the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific would invoke Article 4 of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which guarantees the US’s protection of Philippine territory in the Pacific.