00:00What is the Department's comment on the situation that happened earlier this week in the Philippines
00:08at Second Thomas Shoal?
00:11The Philippine government has released video that shows machete-wielding, knife-wielding
00:18China Coast Guard service members attacking these rigid-hull boats belonging to the Philippines
00:27on a resupply mission.
00:28What do you have to say to that?
00:30Yeah, I mean, I kind of touched on this earlier this week, right?
00:34I mean, this kind of behavior, it's provocative, it's reckless, it's unnecessary.
00:40It's also antithetical to the PRC's claims about respect for sovereignty.
00:48And so, again, the Philippines should have the right to be able to operate within their
00:54legal maritime claims.
00:56Those need to be protected.
00:58So again, we continue to stand by our ally, the Philippines, and we're going to continue
01:04to call out this kind of irresponsible and reckless behavior when we see it.
01:08And when you say stand by, does that mean that the U.S. is considering moving some assets
01:12there to kind of show that support for the Philippines?
01:18Yeah, I don't have any announcements to make, Louis.
01:21We're confident in our force posture in the region right now.
01:25And again, I'll just leave it at that.
