Manila, Dhu-AlHijjah 20, 1432, Nov 16, 2011, SPA - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday vowed to provide greater defence support for the Philippines. Hillary Clinton and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario signed a declaration calling for "a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas" aboard the US Navy warship USS Fitzgerald in Manila Bay. The event is commemorating the 60th anniversary of a defence treaty between the Philippines and the United States. The document stressed the need to maintain "freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas." "The US will always be in the corner of the Philippines," Hillary Clinton said after meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and other top officials, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA." --SPA 14:30 LOCAL TIME 11:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/943973