S.Res. 760

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 760 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 760

Recognizing the United States-Philippines alliance on the 80th 
anniversary of diplomatic relations, the 75th anniversary of the Mutual 
Defense Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of 
the Philippines, and the 10th anniversary of the landmark arbitral 
award upholding Manila's sovereignty against escalating aggression and 
lawfare by the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 8, 2026

Mr. Ricketts (for himself and Mr. Coons) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the United States-Philippines alliance on the 80th 
anniversary of diplomatic relations, the 75th anniversary of the Mutual 
Defense Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of 
the Philippines, and the 10th anniversary of the landmark arbitral 
award upholding Manila's sovereignty against escalating aggression and 
lawfare by the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea.

Whereas the United States and the Philippines have maintained diplomatic 
relations for 80 years, which was founded on the basis of deeply 
interconnected strategic and economic interests and close bonds between 
the people of both countries;
Whereas there are more than 4,000,000 Filipino-Americans living in the United 
States, and approximately 300,000 United States citizens permanently 
residing in the Philippines, including a significant population of 
retired United States military veterans;
Whereas the United States-Philippines partnership was forged in blood, when more 
than 20,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were killed 
in the Philippines campaigns during World War II;
Whereas, following the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines 
between 1941 and 1945, the former United States commonwealth secured its 
official independence on July 4, 1946;
Whereas the United States and the Philippines signed an Agreement Concerning 
Military Bases in Manila on March 14, 1947;
Whereas, on August 30, 1951, the United States and the Philippines signed the 
Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of America and the 
Republic of the Philippines (referred to in this resolution as the 
``Mutual Defense Treaty''), which is the United States longest-standing 
mutual defense treaty in the Indo-Pacific region;
Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty clarifies the United States-Philippine 
collective intent--

(1) to resolve international disputes peacefully;

(2) to undertake separate and joint development of the capacity to 
resist attack; and

(3) to consult with each another whenever the territorial integrity, 
political independence, or security of the United States or the Philippines 
is under threat of external armed attack in the Pacific;

Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty is the foundation of our security alliance and 
all other enabling defense agreements between the United States and the 
Philippines, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, done 
at Manila April 28, 2014;
Whereas the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement allows for a strengthened 
United States military presence in the Philippines--

(1) to increase bilateral cooperation and interoperability; and

(2) to provide training to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with 
increased rotation of United States military personnel and assistance 
devoted to strengthening the territorial defense and humanitarian and 
maritime operations of the Philippines;

Whereas, in February 2023, the United States and the Philippines committed to 
designating 4 additional agreed locations under the Enhanced Defense 
Cooperation Agreement, increasing the total number of such locations 
from 5 to 9;
Whereas these agreed locations--

(1) have strategic value for the United States and the Philippines;

(2) increase confidence in the bilateral alliance; and

(3) provide real opportunities for operational cooperation to advance 
shared security priorities;

Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty serves as a deterrent against the increasing 
territorial aggression by the People's Republic of China in the South 
China Sea;
Whereas, in 2009, the People's Republic of China began unlawfully extending its 
territorial and sovereignty claims in the South China Sea under its 
``nine-dash line'' construct, which violates the territorial rights and 
internationally recognized exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, 
Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam;
Whereas, in June 2012, the People's Republic of China seized de facto control of 
Scarborough Shoal;
Whereas, since 2014, the People's Republic of China has substantially expanded 
its ability to monitor and project power throughout the South China Sea 
via the construction of militarized artificial islands;
Whereas, on September 25, 2015, President of the People's Republic of China Xi 
Jinping stated during a White House press conference that ``China does 
not intend to pursue militarization'' of the Spratly Islands and China's 
outposts would not ``target or impact any country'';
Whereas, on July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII to 
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea unanimously decided 
to invalidate the People's Republic of China's claim to nearly 90 
percent of the South China Sea, including areas determined by the 
tribunal to be part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and 
continental shelf;
Whereas, despite the decision being final and legally binding, the People's 
Republic of China, which refused to participate in the arbitration, has 
continued to reject and further violate the decision;
Whereas the People's Republic of China has employed a variety of assertive and 
aggressive tactics against the Philippines, including through research 
vessels, state-subsidized People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia 
swarming fleets, the China Coast Guard, and the People's Liberation Army 
Navy vessels, to coerce and enforce its arbitrary and unlawful 
territorial claims in the South China Sea, such as by ramming, 
shadowing, blocking, encircling, firing water cannons at, and using 
military-grade lasers against Philippine civilian ships and military 
vessels;
Whereas the People's Republic of China has repeatedly denied the Philippines 
from lawfully delivering humanitarian supplies to members of the Armed 
Forces of the Philippines stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at Second 
Thomas Shoal;
Whereas, in April 2024, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines launched 
the Luzon Economic Corridor to catalyze mutual economic growth, create 
jobs, strengthen connectivity, and improve transport and logistics, 
energy, and digital infrastructure along the corridor connecting Subic 
Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas;
Whereas, on June 17, 2024, coast guard sailors from the People's Republic of 
China brandished knives and other weapons in a clash with Philippine 
naval vessels attempting to resupply marines on Second Thomas Shoal, 
resulting in a severe injury to a member of the Armed Forces of the 
Philippines;
Whereas, in March 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, while visiting the 
Philippines during his first trip to an Indo-Pacific partner, 
committed--

(1) to deploy additional advanced military capabilities to the 
Philippines;

(2) to conduct bilateral training between both nations for high-end 
operations;

(3) to prioritize bilateral defense industrial cooperation; and

(4) to launch a bilateral cyber campaign;

Whereas, in April 2025, the Chinese Coast Guard temporarily deployed on Sandy 
Cay, an unoccupied reef located 2 miles from Manila's largest outpost in 
the South China Sea, and placed a Chinese flag, indicating an intention 
to annex, expand, and possibly militarize the feature;
Whereas, in May 2025, the United States and the Philippines conducted Exercise 
Balikatan 2025, which included participation by more than 14,000 
American, Filipino, Australian, and Japanese service members and the 
first deployment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction 
System (NMESIS);
Whereas, on August 11, 2025, a China Coast Guard vessel collided with another 
People's Republic of China vessel while aggressively swarming a 
Philippine Coast Guard vessel that was conducting a humanitarian mission 
within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone;
Whereas, in October 2025, China Coast Guard vessels intercepted a Philippine 
maritime patrol boat near Thitu Island, a major civilian-inhabited 
feature held by Manila;
Whereas, in December 2025, China Coast Guard ships fired water cannons at 
Filipino fishermen near the disputed Sabina Shoal, injuring 3 people and 
causing significant damage to 2 fishing vessels;
Whereas, in March 2026, a People's Liberation Army Navy vessel locked fire 
control radar on a Philippine Navy vessel conducting a sovereignty 
patrol near Sabina Shoal;
Whereas, in April 2026, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that Chinese 
military forces fired tactical illumination flares directly into the 
flight paths of passing Philippine maritime surveillance aircraft, which 
severely threatened flight safety;
Whereas, in April 2026, China deployed a massive 352-meter floating barrier 
across the mouth of Scarborough Shoal's lagoon, completely severing 
access for Filipino fishermen;
Whereas, in April 2026, the United States and the Philippines announced plans to 
establish a 4,000-acre Economic Security Zone within the Luzon Economic 
Corridor under the Pax Silica initiative;
Whereas, in May 2026, the Luzon Economic Corridor steering committee formally 
expanded to include 8 additional global partners, namely Australia, 
Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and the United 
Kingdom, positioning the corridor as a multi-billion-dollar multilateral 
alternative to the People's Republic of China's predatory infrastructure 
deals;
Whereas, in May 2026, the United States and the Philippines hosted the largest 
Exercise Balikatan, which included notable developments, such as--

(1) participation of 17,000 troops, including troops from Japan, 
Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand;

(2) the deployment of Japanese combat troops on Philippines soil;

(3) the first deployment of Japan's Type-88 surface-to-ship missile 
outside of Japan; and

(4) the real-time sharing of command-and-control data among allies to 
jointly defend against maritime aggression;

Whereas, in May 2026, a United States Coast Guard vessel joined Philippine Navy 
and Coast Guard vessels for a joint patrol sailing between 35 and 40 
nautical miles from the contested Scarborough Shoal;
Whereas, in May 2026, commercial satellite imagery revealed that the People's 
Republic of China placed a possible structure at Scarborough Shoal;
Whereas July 4, 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of 
diplomatic relations between the United States and the Philippines;
Whereas July 12, 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of an international arbitral 
tribunal's ruling overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines in its 
dispute with the People's Republic of China regarding the South China 
Sea; and
Whereas August 30, 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual 
Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines: Now, 
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) celebrates the 80th anniversary of the establishment of 
formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the 
Philippines;
(2) celebrates the 75th anniversary of the signing of the 
Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of America and 
the Philippines and the longstanding alliance between our 2 
nations;
(3) condemns the People's Republic of China's refusal to 
accept the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Ruling that rejects 
its illegal and expansive territorial claims in the South China 
Sea;
(4) appreciates the trust of the Filipino people in our 
bilateral alliance and their support for increased defense 
cooperation and United States military presence in the 
Philippines;
(5) supports the United States-Philippines alliance's 
expanding strategic focus on economic and supply chain security 
through the Luzon Economic Corridor, Pax Silica, and other 
measures to strengthen our partnership on critical minerals, 
advanced manufacturing, emerging technologies, energy, 
transport, and logistics;
(6) acknowledges the determination of the people and the 
Armed Forces of the Philippines to resist coercion by the 
People's Republic of China;
(7) condemns the People's Republic of China's unprovoked 
aggression and political lawfare in the South China Sea to 
enforce its unlawful territorial and sovereignty claims;
(8) rejects the People's Republic of China's coercive and 
destabilizing plans to establish a so-called ``national nature 
reserve'' at Scarborough Reef;
(9) reaffirms that Article IV of the Mutual Defense Treaty 
extends to armed attacks on the Armed Forces, public vessels, 
or aircraft of the Philippines, including the Philippine Coast 
Guard, anywhere in the South China Sea;
(10) considers aggression by the People's Republic of China 
in the Philippines' internationally recognized exclusive 
economic zone to be a direct assault on its sovereignty and 
territorial integrity;
(11) urges the President to continue to take appropriate 
and necessary actions in response to escalatory behavior of the 
People's Republic of China in order to restore deterrence and 
to help the Philippines defend itself;
(12) supports the unwavering commitment of the United 
States to deepening security cooperation with the Philippines, 
including advancing Philippine defense modernization and 
enhancing interoperability through military exercises, 
training, joint patrols, and increased information sharing;
(13) supports other nations growing their political and 
security partnerships with the Philippines;
(14) commits to advance cooperation among the United 
States, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and 
other partners; and
(15) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the 
right to freedom of navigation and overflight, respecting 
maritime rights under international law, and ensuring a free 
and open Indo-Pacific.
<all>