The United States on Wednesday assured the Philippines of its "ironclad commitment" amid the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the extremist group Hamas.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters at her residence, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson downplayed fears that Washington would forget its commitment to the Philippines because of various pressing global issues.

"We can't prioritize any given region. We've got global challenges, and the US does not shirk from its leadership role. But we approach it with a combination of resilience and strength, with equal doses of humility, that we need partners to meet the challenges that we have, whether it's in climate change, whether it's regional conflicts," Carlson said.

She added: "That's why our alliances with the Philippines, with Japan, with Korea, trilateral alliances as well, anything that we can do, and I'm just talking about this region because that's the region where I work."

In building alliances, she said the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Blinken are working with NATO, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and all regions of the world to better tackle the global challenges and threats that we face."

Working closely on cyber issues
Meanwhile, Carlson said the US and the Philippines are "working closely" to address the rampant cyberattacks on local government agencies' websites.

"We have a very active coordination on how we can together combat cybercrimes and cyber-attacks of all types," Carlson said.

She also underscored the importance of keeping the country's cyberspace free of cybercriminals and hackers.

"So, it's not just Philippine data that is endangered by any attacks here. It's our data, it's data globally, that could potentially be affected," she said. "Absolutely, this is an important issue for us. Philippine relations is also important for us in the United States."

Over the past few weeks, several government agencies were targeted by computer hackers.

The website of the House of Representatives was the latest victim of the spree of cyberattacks on government agencies like the Senate of the Philippines, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth, and the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Philippine dependence
Senator Imee Marcos said the Philippines should not depend on the United States to defend its territorial and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos, in a radio interview, said Manila should focus on strengthening its defense posture instead of relying on the US to protect itself from external threats.

"One more thing that maybe, we should think about is that although we are far from Israel and the Gaza Strip, it means that the Americans, on whom we depend on in the West Philippine Sea, are in three wars," she said.

"So, we should not depend on our allies to defend the Philippines. We should be more self-sufficient and strengthen our self-defense posture," she added.

Citing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Ukraine and Russia, the elder sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the budget for the country's defense should be boosted.

"We should spend a little more on our defense because our allies cannot really defend us. They already have Ukraine, Israel, and the West Philippine Sea. They might forget us because of what is happening in the world," she pointed out.

More joint patrols
Carlson said she expects to "see more" maritime cooperation between the US and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

"I think some people get a little hung up on the word 'patrol,' but in fact, we have combined maritime activities that are ongoing, including the recent Sama-Sama naval exercise," she said.

"We have every year 500 or so engagements, military engagements of various sorts, some as large as Balikatan — that's a major exercise. But other tabletop exercises, high-level visits, and educational exchanges of varying types, including maritime activities, that could be considered joint patrols, but I expect to see more of that in the future," she added.

Earlier this week, the Philippines called out China for "dangerous maneuvers" against Filipino vessels conducting a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.

Beijing insisted on its territorial claim over Ayungin, which it calls Ren'ai Reef, saying that Manila's "provocations" in the area seriously violated their territorial sovereignty.

Ayungin Shoal, or Second Thomas Shoal, is 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and within the Philippines' 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone.