Philippines may seek US spy planes for South China Sea
July 3, 2012, Tuesday
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THE Philippines may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor disputed waters, President Benigno Aquino said yesterday in a move that could worsen tensions with China.
The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Huangyan Island.
The US has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces. China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved.
"We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino said, referring to US P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."
There was no immediate comment from Washington.
Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather in the Huangyan Island area.
The South China Sea is potentially the biggest military flashpoint in Asia, and tensions have risen since the US adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the region.
China said last week it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters under its control in the South China Sea.
"We hope the Philippines will no longer issue information that provokes public opinion and avoid complicating the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters yesterday, referring to the Philippine military's assertion that it could return to Huangyan Island at any time.
Aquino said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the shoal. He said he had called a Cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.
"We'll discuss the whole issue of the relationship with China and I would like to get the advice of my advisers," the 52-year-old president said.
Manila has been looking to its old ally Washington for ships, aircraft, surveillance equipment and other hardware as the US refocuses its military attention on Asia. Manila has offered the US greater access to airfields and its military facilities in exchange for more equipment and frequent training.
In August last year, the US Pacific Command made an initial offer to deploy the P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines and help monitor disputed areas in the South China Sea.
The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Huangyan Island.
The US has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces. China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved.
"We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino said, referring to US P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."
There was no immediate comment from Washington.
Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather in the Huangyan Island area.
The South China Sea is potentially the biggest military flashpoint in Asia, and tensions have risen since the US adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the region.
China said last week it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters under its control in the South China Sea.
"We hope the Philippines will no longer issue information that provokes public opinion and avoid complicating the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters yesterday, referring to the Philippine military's assertion that it could return to Huangyan Island at any time.
Aquino said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the shoal. He said he had called a Cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.
"We'll discuss the whole issue of the relationship with China and I would like to get the advice of my advisers," the 52-year-old president said.
Manila has been looking to its old ally Washington for ships, aircraft, surveillance equipment and other hardware as the US refocuses its military attention on Asia. Manila has offered the US greater access to airfields and its military facilities in exchange for more equipment and frequent training.
In August last year, the US Pacific Command made an initial offer to deploy the P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines and help monitor disputed areas in the South China Sea.
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