Marcos and Rubio Speak on South China Sea and Energy Security; US Secretary of State Reaffirms Stability Commitment to Manila

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call on June 1, 2026, discussing recent South China Sea developments and regional energy security. The call coincided with the acute escalation cluster at Scarborough Shoal — including the June 1 PLA Southern Theater Command 'combat readiness patrols,' ongoing China CCG patrols east of Taiwan following the Japan-Philippines maritime boundary talks, and the Xiang Yang Hong 33's Day 26 unauthorized presence near Pag-asa Island. Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to peace and stability in the South China Sea and the enduring strength of US-Philippines alliance obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty. The Marcos-Rubio call comes at a moment of strategic uncertainty for Manila: the Trump administration's broader diplomatic engagement with Beijing — culminating in the May 2026 Trump-Xi summit — has raised questions among Philippine officials about whether the 'strategic stability' framework being negotiated at the US-China level could constrain US responses to Chinese gray-zone pressure in the West Philippine Sea. Defense Secretary Teodoro, speaking from Singapore the same day, declared Manila remains under 'severe threat' from China and that the Philippines has 'no choice but really to be resilient and to stand up against Chinese aggression' — framing the Philippines as a 'guardian of the freedom of the seas' and 'strategic sentinel' in his Shangri-La Dialogue address, remarks that drew a direct rebuke from China's CGTN, which accused the Philippines of maintaining a 'contradictory' South China Sea position and questioned whether Teodoro's statements reflected official policy.