Following what it called a "changing regional dynamic in the Indo-Pacific region," the United States has expressed its commitment to assist the Philippine armed forces, public vessels as well as aircraft in the South China Sea as part of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

The assurance came after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III spoke with Department of National Defense (DND) Officer-in-Charge and Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino, Jr. to discuss opportunities to further modernize and strengthen the U.S.-Philippines alliance

Their conversation was held through a phone call on Friday—the first they had since Faustino assumed his post.

According to US Defense Department's website, Austin and Faustino reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Philippines alliance, "especially in light of changing regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific."

Austin stressed that the US' commitment to Philippine security "is ironclad," and that the MDT remains intact, even on matters concerning the South China Sea.

The two defense chiefs also noted the importance of the US-Philippine alliance to address new and emerging challenges by "deepening cooperation under the Visiting Forces Agreement and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement."

At the end of their conversation, Austin and Faustino "agreed to continue close operational coordination in the region" as they "underscored the importance of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific."

During the recent state visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Philippines, he assured President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of Washington’s commitment to the MDT, which will provide foreign support to each other in the Pacific in case of external armed attack.

He also called the US-Philippines' relationship as "quite extraordinary."