UPDATE 1-Philippines says may benefit from any pivot to Asia by Biden administration

* Philippines welcomes anticipated 'pivot to Asia'
* United States pledges to stand with Southeast Asian
nations
* President Duterte has pursued warmer ties with China

(Adds quote, comment from Philippine diplomat, context)
By Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema
MANILA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Philippines may benefit if
there is a renewed emphasis on Asia by the administration of
U.S. President Joe Biden, which could help act as a
counterbalance to China in the region, the country's defence
minister said on Friday.
The former U.S. colony has long been a treaty ally of
Washington, but its ties have warmed with China and Russia since
President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 amid Beijing's
promises of billions if dollars of aid, loans and investments.
"Being one of America's allies in the Indo-Asia Pacific
region, the Philippines may benefit from the Biden
administration's anticipated pivot to Asia strategy," Defence
Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told foreign journalists in a
pre-recorded speech.
The Philippines welcomed the prospect of a new era of
relations with the United States, he said, adding that the
longstanding geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing
would continue to test his nation's adeptness in balancing
relations.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday
that Washington stood with Southeast Asian nations resisting
pressure from China, which claims 90% of the strategically
important South China Sea. China does not recognise a 2016 international arbitration
decision invalidating its claims in the waterway, where there
are overlapping claims with the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam,
Malaysia and Taiwan.
After years of reclaiming land and building military
strongholds in the South China Sea, China has passed a law
allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, if
necessary, to protect its claims. The Philippines has lodged a
diplomatic protest against the legislation. The move adds to tensions in the waterway after the United
States sent a carrier group through area to promote "freedom of
the seas" last week, unnerving China.
"I'm afraid that we have to now be more circumspect in the
way we handle our relationship with both countries. We don't
want to be caught in the middle," Jose Manuel Romualdez, the
Philippine ambassador to Washington, said in the same forum.