THE Philippines is ready to conduct joint patrols with the United States in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the Department of National Defense (DND) told The Manila Times on Thursday.DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said joint patrols with the US can be “explored,” especially if the arrangement will be beneficial to the country.

Andolong was asked to comment on the statements of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo that joint patrols between the Philippines and the US in the West Philippine Sea can be explored, in the face of continuing aggressive actions by China in the waterway.

Manalo was quoted as saying that the patrols “can take place under the ambit of the Mutual Defense Treaty.”

Signed in 1951, the treaty calls for the Philippines and the US to defend each other from aggression.

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