US President Barack Obama speaks following a tour of the BRP Gregario Del Pilar in Manila Harbor in Manila on November 17, 2015. (AFP)
US President Barack Obama today pledged his nation's "ironclad" commitment to defend longtime ally the Philippines, which is locked in a bitter territorial row with China.
"The United States has been committed to the security of this region for more than 70 years, we have a treaty obligation, an ironclad commitment, to the defence of our ally the Philippines, who can count on the United States," Obama said as he toured the Philippine Navy's flagship vessel in Manila.