MANILA: US secretary of state Antony Blinken underscored Washington’s “ironclad commitment” on Tuesday to help defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack against its forces after clashes between Chinese and Filipino coast guards in the disputed South China Sea recently turned more hostile. Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the US treaty ally, met his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo Tuesday before separately meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila.Biden will host Marcos and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida in a White House summit in April. The three are likely to discuss growing concerns over aggressive Chinese actions in the South China Sea. “We have a shared concern about the PRC’s actions that threaten our common vision for a free, open Indo-Pacific,” Blinken said.