Philippines wants US help to spy in South China Sea
Manila, July 2: Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Monday he may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbour China.
The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim. The United States has said it is neutral in the longrunning maritime dispute and China has warned that “external forces” should not get involved in the dispute.
“We might be requesting overflights on that,” Mr Aquino said referring to US P3C Orion spy planes. “We don’t have aircraft with those capabilities.”
Last month, Mr Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather around the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rock formations about 225 km west of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
Tensions have risen since the US adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the South China Sea. At stake is control over what are believed to be significant reserves of oil and gas.
Mr Aquino said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the disputed shoal and had called a cabinet meeting for Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.
Manila has been looking to its old ally US for ships, aircraft and surveillance and equipment as the US refocuses its military attention on Asia.
— Agencies