Manila, March 3 -- The Philippine Navy sees no "marked dip" in support from allies, including the United States, despite the latest Middle East conflict, a senior official said Tuesday.

"There's been no marked observed downscale in the support of our treaty ally or even other like-minded nations when it comes to West Philippine Sea (WPS) activities, especially MMCAs (multilateral maritime cooperative activity)," Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said at a briefing.

Trinidad made the remark when asked if US operations in the Middle East would affect support in the WPS.

He cited the 15th MMCA held Feb. 20 to 26 with the Philippine, Japanese and US naval and air forces as proof that American support remains stea...