H. Res. 837 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

November 20, 2024. 

Whereas the United States established diplomatic relations 

with the Philippines on July 4, 1946, and the two countries have since enjoyed expanded and positive relations; 

Whereas there are over 4,000,000 United States citizens of 

Philippine ancestry in the United States; 

Whereas the United States and the Philippines have a strong 

and mutually beneficial trade relationship, with more 

than $18,900,000,000 in goods and services traded during 2020; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China continues to use its 

Coast Guard and its Merchant Marine to violate the Philippines sovereignty, including in the Scarborough Shoal, 

Whereas Chinese Communist Party propaganda now assert 

claims based on a so-called ‘‘ten-dash line’’, after a 

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea arbitral tribunal ruled that China’s nine-dashed line had ‘‘no 

legal basis’’; 

Whereas in 1994, the People’s Republic of China unlawfully 

seized Mischief Reef and have since constructed 20 artificial islands that extends the operational capabilities of 

the People’s Liberation Army with the aim of expanding 
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its presence and reinforcing their illegitimate claims to 

the South China Sea; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China is asserting its 

sweeping claims over the South China Sea by disrupting 

the regular resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine Navy transport ship, based in the Second Thomas 

Shoal, by shooting water cannons at Philippine Coast 

Guard vessels and using military-grade lasers to blind its 

crew; 

Whereas, on April 3, 2023, the Biden administration announced plans today to expand the Enhanced Defense 

Cooperation Arrangement to include four new sites to 

strengthen interoperability and allow the United States 

and the Philippines to better address shared challenges in 

the Indo-Pacific region; 

Whereas, on August 5, 2023, the United States Department 

of State reaffirmed that ‘‘an armed attack on Philippine 

public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces—including 

those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea—would 

invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article 

IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty’’; 

Whereas, on October 22, 2023, the Chinese Coast Guard 

rammed a Philippines Coast Guard cutter escorting supplies to the Second Thomas Shoal within the Philippines 

exclusive economic zone; 

Whereas, on April 11, 2024, the leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States held a trilateral summit 

in Washington, D.C., to expand trilateral cooperation and 

bolster a free and open Indo-Pacific and an international 

order based on international law; and 
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Whereas, on June 17, 2024, PRC vessels tried to deny the 

Philippines from lawfully delivering humanitarian supplies to service members stationed at the BRP Sierra 

Madre through the dangerous use of water cannons, ramming, blocking maneuvers, and towing which damaged 

Philippine vessels and injured Philippine service members: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) reaffirms the United States unwavering commitment to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines if an armed attack against the Philippines assets, including those of the Philippine Coast Guard, is 

committed in the South China Sea; 

(2) calls on the United States and Philippines to 

conduct more joint patrols in the South China Sea, including with other like-minded partners, to underscore 

the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight; 

(3) firmly objects to the People’s Republic of China’s false sovereignty claims to the South China Sea; 

(4) strongly condemns and calls on the People’s Republic of China to cease its aggressive and dangerous actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea; 

(5) welcomes swift implementation of the Enhanced 

Defense Cooperation Agreement to ensure we adhere to 

our commitments to the Philippine people, and to foster 

a free and open Indo-Pacific for all; 
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(6) emphasizes that respecting the shared values of 

democratic institutions, human rights, and the rule of 

law, especially with regard to the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, critics of the 

Government, faith and religious leaders, and civil society 

activists, will strengthen the alliance between the United 

States and the Philippines; and 

(7) reaffirms the United States unwavering commitment to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, in accordance with constitutional processes, if an 

armed attack against the Philippines assets, including 

those of the Philippine Coast Guard, is committed in the 

South China Sea. 

Attest: 

Clerk.