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 coun-
tries 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 dur-
ing 2020; 
Whereas the People’s Republic of China continues to use its 
Coast Guard and its Merchant Marine to violate the Phil-
ippines 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 arbi-
tral 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 artifi-
cial islands that extends the operational capabilities of 
the People’s Liberation Army with the aim of expanding
•HRES 837 EH 
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 Phil-
ippine 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 an-
nounced 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 sup-
plies to the Second Thomas Shoal within the Philippines 
exclusive economic zone; 
Whereas, on April 11, 2024, the leaders of Japan, the Phil-
ippines, 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 sup-
plies to service members stationed at the BRP Sierra 
Madre through the dangerous use of water cannons, ram-
ming, blocking maneuvers, and towing which damaged 
Philippine vessels and injured Philippine service mem-
bers: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms the United States unwavering commit-
ment to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Phil-
ippines if an armed attack against the Philippines as-
sets, 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, in-
cluding with other like-minded partners, to underscore 
the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight; 
(3) firmly objects to the People’s Republic of Chi-
na’s false sovereignty claims to the South China Sea; 
(4) strongly condemns and calls on the People’s Re-
public of China to cease its aggressive and dangerous ac-
tions 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 union-
ists, 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 commit-
ment to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Phil-
ippines, 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.