Trump Assures Marcos Philippines' South China Sea Concerns Will Be Raised With Xi

US President Donald Trump told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a phone call around July 27, 2026 that the Philippines' South China Sea concerns would be "taken up" with Chinese President Xi Jinping, following a week of Chinese Coast Guard clashes with Philippine vessels at Second Thomas and Scarborough shoals. The call reaffirmed the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty relationship amid the Marcos administration's push for stronger allied backing against Chinese maritime pressure.