Why did US defence official Colby avoid mention of Scarborough Shoal in Manila speech?

US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby avoided naming Beijing or addressing escalating tensions in the South China Sea during a speech in Manila on Monday, adopting a measured tone weeks before an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Despite speaking in the capital of Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia, Colby made no direct reference to recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces near the disputed Scarborough...