U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks to reporters after touring the Philippine Navy's BRP Gregorio Del Pilar at Manila Harbor in Manila, Philippines, November 17, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama put tensions over Beijing's claims to the South China Sea squarely on the agenda ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit on Tuesday, pointedly visiting the main warship of close ally the Philippines shortly after he landed in Manila.
While Obama affirmed a commitment to the Philippines' security and to freedom of navigation in regional waters, a senior official in Beijing said China was the real victim of the waterway dispute because other countries had illegally occupied islands there.
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