A US senator has warned that President Donald Trump's war in Iran is weakening the United States military's ability to deter China in the South China Sea. Senator Tammy Duckworth stated that such a conflict west of the Philippines could endanger over 750,000 Americans living there and disrupt one-third of global maritime trade. She argued that proper crisis planning is impossible while the US is focused on the Middle East conflict.
On Tuesday, March 3, US Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned of the impact of the ongoing war in Iran on Indo-Pacific security. She stated that Operation Epic Fury, launched by President Donald Trump on February 28 alongside Israel—which resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and strikes on over 1,000 targets—is distracting the US from China's challenges in the South China Sea.
"Let's be clear: We are a Pacific nation," Duckworth said during a hearing with US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby. "There are very real signs that the People's Republic of China is exploiting Trump's adventurism to threaten all of this."
Although the Philippines is not involved in the Middle East conflict, it relies on the US as its primary security ally in the West Philippine Sea, where China has intensified its military presence through persistent air and naval exercises around contested features. More than 500 joint military activities are planned between the US and the Philippines for 2026, the highest number in the alliance's history. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stated that the nine EDCA sites remain under Philippine control and will not be used for offensive operations, with defense officials noting no credible threat to Philippine territory from the fighting.
"If the U.S. isn't prepared, flinches or delays a response, the PRC could exploit it," Duckworth added. "We have to be ready right away — but that kind of crisis planning requires focus and preparation to prevent it from spiraling into war."
Colby agreed that coordination with the Philippines and other Indo-Pacific partners must remain a top priority for the Department of Defense. One Filipino national was reported killed in Israel from strikes presumed to be from Iran, the first and only casualty from the Philippines in the conflict so far. An estimated 2.4 million Filipinos live and work across the Middle East, and Trump has indicated the operation could last four to five weeks or "whatever it takes."
