US VP Kamala Harris pledges support for Manila as she visits island of Palawan

US Vice President Kamala Harris has visited the Philippine island of Palawan, near waters claimed by China. She is the highest-ranking US official to visit the area in the disputed South China Sea. During her three day-trip to the Philippines, she reaffirmed US commitment under a 1951 mutual defence treaty to come to Manila’s aid should it come under attack. She also underscored US support for a historic 2016 UN arbitral tribunal ruling rejecting Beijing's expansive South China Sea claims.