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| Image: Flickr User - US Embassy Manila |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
Obama gives the Philippine navy a boost after touring a former U.S. coast guard cutter.
The United States will hand over two new ships to the Philippine navy to boost the U.S. ally’s maritime security capabilities amid tensions in the South China Sea, President Barack Obama announced November 17 in Manila as he kicked off his weeklong visit to Asia.
The United States has already been stepping up its maritime security assistance to the Philippines over the past few years as Manila confronts Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, despite having one of the weakest militaries in the Asia-Pacific (See: “The Truth About Philippine Military Modernization and the China Threat”).
In that vein, Obama announced on Tuesday that Washington intended to transfer two additional ships to the Philippine Navy – one research vessel, the R/V Melville, to help map its territorial waters and another U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Boutwell, to bolster the Navy’s ability to conduct long-endurance patrols. As I reported ahead of the visit, the expected announcement is part of a broader U.S. boost to maritime security in Southeast Asia that the administration is rolling out (See: “Obama Philippines Visit to Focus on Maritime Security”).
“Today, I can announce that we intend to transfer two additional ships to the Philippine Navy,” Obama said in an opening event ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting that the Philippines is hosting this year. “More capable navies and partnership with the United States are critical to the security of this region.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat