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MANILA - The US will be able to defend Panatag Shoal, also called Scarborough Shoal, if it decides to recognize the area as Philippine territory, a maritime expert said Wednesday.

Jay Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the US has an obligation under the Mutual Defense Treaty to defend Philippine territory if it is attacked.

"There is a strong push for the US government, it has been under discussion for more than a year now, where the US should consider the Scarborough Shoal as Philippine territory," he told ANC.

Batongbacal explained that documents authorities have uncovered prove that the US turned over Panatag Shoal to the Philippine Commonwealth government decades ago.

"A recognition in the part of the US—it means that you're raising the possibility of defending the territory from, say reclamation," the professor said.

"It's now a matter of shall we say, how serious is the issue, how they would act on certain activities in Scarborough. The biggest danger is if China will push with its reclamation," he added.

An arbitral ruling on the South China Sea says both the Philippines and China have "traditional fishing rights" to the shoal, a decision Batongbacal believes is a step backward in Manila's claims.

Fishermen from Zambales who used to get their best catch in the nearby shoal claim being harassed by Chinese Coast Guard personnel who seize their fish in exchange for noodles, water and cigarettes.

President Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration has sought friendlier ties with China, claims this is not harassment but a form of barter trade.