UPDATE 2-U.S. stands with SE Asian countries against China pressure - Blinken

(Adds comment, detail)
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The United States rejects
China's maritime claims in the South China Sea beyond what it is
permitted under international law and stands with Southeast
Asian nations resisting its pressure, U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
Blinken made the remarks in a call with Philippine Foreign
Minister Teodoro Locsin, the U.S. State Department said in a
statement, in which he also stressed the importance of a
long-standing defense agreement between the allies and its clear
application if Manila came under attack in the South China Sea.
"Secretary Blinken pledged to stand with Southeast Asian
claimants in the face of PRC pressure," it said, referring to
the People's Republic of China.
"Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of the Mutual
Defense Treaty for the security of both nations, and its clear
application to armed attacks against the Philippine armed
forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, which
includes the South China Sea," it said.
Blinken's assurances came after Locsin said on Wednesday the
Philippines had filed a diplomatic protest over China's passing
of a law allowing its coastguard to open fire on foreign
vessels, describing it as a "threat of war". China passed the legislation on Friday allowing its
coastguard to use "all necessary means" to stop or prevent
threats from foreign vessels, including demolishing other
countries' structures built on Chinese-claimed reefs.
China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea,
which is also a major trade route. The Philippines, Brunei,
Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
The United States, which has accused China of taking
advantage of the distraction of the coronavirus pandemic to
advance its presence in the South China Sea, has sent a carrier
group through the waterway to promote "freedom of the seas".
China on Tuesday said it would hold military drills of its
own this week.
A spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday the
Philippines hoped no country would do anything to increase
tension.
The State Department said Blinken, who took office this week
in Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, "underscored
that the United States rejects China's maritime claims in the
South China Sea to the extent they exceed the maritime zones
that China is permitted to claim under international law."