The Philippines and the US signed a Mutual Defence Treaty in 1951, under which they agreed to support each other in the event of an armed attack.
However, Assoc Prof Araral said that even if the Philippines invokes the treaty, it does not necessarily mean that the US will get involved in a conflict with China.
In fact, the treaty is a mechanism to de-escalate any tension between the Philippines and China, he noted.
Assoc Prof Araral added that under the agreement, any case that arises will be reported to the UN Security Council. The issue will then be de-escalated and put to rest.
“It’s not an automatic trigger (for) the United States (to) start confronting China because there are mechanisms for conflict resolution in place,” he said.
He noted that the Philippines wants to involve the US because it is a smaller country going up against an Asian giant, but that China does not want the US’ involvement.
“That is where we are … a stalemate, but I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to escalate the conflict further,” he said.
