Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.

Since its inception, the United StatesвЂ™ commitment to the MDT regarding attacks on Philippine assets in contested waters in the South China Sea has been unclear. Along with the controversial policies of the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the uncertainty of the MDT has strained U.S.-Philippine relations and caused Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to call for a review of the relevance of the MDT in October 2018 with the main goal of determining whether the government should вЂњmaintain it, strengthen it, or scrap it.вЂќ ii In recognition that вЂњan armed attack in the Pacific Area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to peace and safetyвЂќ of both countries, the treaty declared that each state would вЂњact to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.вЂќ i However, like most conventional defense treaties and standards, the MDT is not clear about the increasingly common unconventional gray zone threats that skirt the definition of war to avoid prompting a kinetic response. On August 31, 1951, representatives of the United States and the Republic of the Philippines signed the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) in Washington. Responding to Egregious Human Rights AbusesД«y Adrien Chorn and Monica Michiko Sato - October 1, 2019.Building Sustainable and Inclusive Democracy.Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, and Immunizations.Energy, Climate Change, and Environmental Impacts.Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation.Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation.Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy.

United states defcon level