US raises military aid to Philippines |Admin01 Albert F. del Rosario said Washington had increased its military assistance package from $30 million next fiscal year to about $50 million, the highest level since US troops returned to the Philippines in 2000. “For military financing, it’s an allocation that is worked out by the US Congress, and its usually for acquisition and maintenance,” Mr. del Rosario told reporters. Mr. del Rosario said the Philippines may acquire a third Hamilton-class cutter to boost its efforts to patrol sea borders in view of recurring standoffs with China over territory in the South China Sea. The Hamilton-class high endurance cutter is the largest and newest warship in the Philippine Navy. The first two ships were acquired free of charge under the excess defense articles (EDA) under which Washington provides old equipment no longer in active use. But $25 million was spent to refurbish them. The second cutter is to arrive next week in Subic Bay, a former US Navy base, 50 kilometers northwest of Manila, where it will be repainted before joining its sister ship on patrols. A senior military official, however, told Reuters that the Philippines may shelve the plan to acquire the third cutter and use the funds to upgrade the two vessels now in its fleet with a missile system. Since 2002, the United States has provided the Philippines a total of $312 million in military aid as well as various types of military equipment. Until the early 1990s, US troops operated from two large military bases in the Philippines, providing a security umbrella in the country’s decades of fighting against communist and Moro insurgents. There are now plans to allow Washington wider access to civilian and military bases to help its former colony enhance its defense capability. SPY PLANES In the same briefing, Mr. del Rosario said US spy planes were providing crucial intelligence on Chinese military activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea. US Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft frequently fly over areas that the Philippines says are within its legal territory but where China has deployed military vessels, he said. “I think it’s of significant importance for us,” Mr. del Rosario told reporters, when asked about the value of the information gathered by the spy planes. “We do have an interest in terms of what is going on with our exclusive economic zone, within our continental shelf, and we want to know if there are any intrusions.” China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other neighbors. When asked how long the spy planes had been flying over the Philippine-claimed waters of the South China Sea, Mr. del Rosario said since at least he became Foreign Affairs secretary in 2010. -- Reuters and AFP New envoy nominated US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has nominated a new ambassador to the Philippines, the White House announced Tuesday in a press release. Mr. Obama nominated Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg as replacement for Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. who has been assigned to the Philippines since 2010. Mr. Goldberg is currently Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research at the Department of State, a position he has held since 2010, according to the statement. He was former ambassador to Bolivia in 2006 to 2008, and previously served in various capacities in Chile, Colombia and South Africa. Mr. Goldberg’s nomination will undergo confirmation by the US Senate. The Department of Foreign Affairs was not immediately available for comment. -- MFEF
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 01:41:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015