BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — Long-simmering tensions in the South China Sea and a recent spate of close calls and violent run-ins involving China and the Philippines, is raising concerns of escalation, in part, due to a 73-year-old mutual defense treaty that could draw the U.S. into conflict there.
“If China physically attacks a treaty ally of the United States,” said Cipher Brief Expert RADM Mark Montgomery (Ret). “It’s going to put us in a very tough position because this isn’t like Ukraine and Russia, where Ukraine was not a treaty ally. This becomes a credibility issue for the United States.”
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