An official from the National Maritime Council (NMC) believes that it may be the right time to review the Philippines' mutual defense treaty (MDT) with the United States amid rising tensions between Manila and Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.

NMC spokesman Alexander Lopez said this in response to renewed calls for the Philippines to invoke its MDT with the US following the recent ramming and water cannon incident between Philippine and Chinese vessels off Sabina Shoal.

In an interview, Lopez told reporters that while he is leaving the matter to the Department of National Defense (DND), it might be time to review the country's defense pact with Washington since a lot has changed since the MDT was signed 73 years ago.

"Sa akin lang, 1951 pa iyang MDT (To me, the MDT has been around since 1951), and, since then, the strategic landscape has changed so much. So maybe it's high time now to make the review," he said on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

"Maybe [make it] relevant to the new security challenges," he added.

Under the MDT, both nations are required to support each other if another party attacks the Philippines or the US.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called for a broader interpretation of the MDT between the Philippines and the US, saying the pact has to be "more dynamic."

"The mutual defense treaty should be interpreted dynamically," he said in a forum.

"And the biggest danger for us is to narrow down our operational limitations, which is contrary, perhaps, to what a potential aggressor does when it expands," he added.

US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said the US military is open to possibly escorting Philippine vessels in the South China Sea "within the context of consultations."

"Every option between the two sovereign nations in terms of our mutual defense, escort of one vessel to the other, is an entirely reasonable option within our Mutual Defense Treaty, among this close alliance between the two of us," he said.

The US has described its commitment to the Philippines' defense as "ironclad," stressing that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea will invoke US defense commitments to the pact.

In December 2022, President Marcos said the country's MDT with the US was continuously under negotiation and evolution to see what would be the best for the Philippines' defense.

"Well, the mutual defense treaty is continuously under negotiation and under evolution. I always call this 'evolution' because things are changing," he had said.