; Whereas, on March 1, 2019, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article 4 of our mutual defense treaty. ; Whereas, on April 11, 2023, at a joint press conference with the United States Secretary of Defense, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Senior Undersecretary and Officer in Charge of the Department of National Defense, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to standing with the Philippines against any intimidation or coercion, including in the South China Sea, and to preserving a region that’s governed by international law where goods and ideas and people can move freely. ; Whereas the PRC has employed a variety of gray zone tactics to enforce its erroneous territorial claims in the South China Sea; Whereas, on February 13, 2023, a PRC vessel used a laser against a Philippine vessel, temporarily blinding some of its crew; Whereas, in August 2023, a China Coast Guard vessel used a water cannon to prevent Philippine vessels from resupplying Philippine forces on Second Thomas Shoal; Whereas, on October 22, 2023, a China Coast Guard vessel and an associated vessel rammed 2 Philippine resupply and Coast Guard ships near Second Thomas Shoal; and Whereas, on October 25, 2023, during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Australia, President Joseph R. Biden reiterated that the United States’ defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad and that any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels, or armed forces will invoke our Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. : Now, therefore, be it