Manila studying US proposal to deploy spy jets
MANILA — The Philippines is considering a US proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, the Philippine defence minister said yesterday.
Two days of talks in Washington this week on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.
The effort to expand military ties between the United States and the Philippines, which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, occurs as both countries grapple with the growing assertiveness of China.
An expanded US military presence in the region should help the Philippines better deter border intrusions, Gazmin said.
"I would rather look at it from the positive point of view that there would be stability in the region, that we would have enough deterrent," he said.
"Without a deterrent force, we can be easily pushed around, our territories will be violated. Now that we have a good neighbour on the block, we can no longer be bullied," he said, referring to the US.
Of cials from the two nations said after the talks they were committed to deepening co-operation on "security, defence, commerce, law enforcement, human rights, and disaster relief" but providing no details.
In a joint statement released by the US State Department, they said their foreign and defence ministers would hold a joint meeting in March, though they did not specify a date or venue.
In Washington, Navy Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, de- scribed talks with the Philippines as "preliminary."
Kirby said they involved the potential for expanded exercise opportunities, exchange programmes, more US Navy ship visits "and other ways for us to partner with the Philippine military."
The talks with the Philippines, a US ally which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, follow Washington's announcement of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.
The Obama administration describes the moves as part of a "pivot" towards economically dynamic Asia designed to reassure allies that felt neglected during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
But China sees the deployments as part of a broader US attempt to encircle it as it grows into a major power.
The South China Sea could be a ash point.
China claims the entire sea, while the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims to parts of the area believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.
Gazmin con rmed a US offer to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines but he said there was no plan for any new US bases. The Philippines has a constitutional ban on foreign military bases on its soil.
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the US Paci c Command, told reporters in Washington the military's goal is to have a network of places close to the sea lanes of Southeast Asia where American forces can visit on rotation.
"There is no desire nor view right now that the US is seeking basing options anywhere in the Asia-paci c theatre," he said. — Reuters