The US has pledged to deepen its cooperation with long-time ally the Philippines by committing US$8 million in funding to help modernise its coastguard as China’s rival maritime claims with the island nation press on.
The funding will be used to support the Philippine coastguard’s “infrastructure enhancements, training programme development and resource acquisition and management planning”, the US embassy in Manila said in a statement on Monday.
Without mentioning China by name, the countries at a bilateral maritime dialogue in Manila last week “reviewed ongoing cooperative efforts and discussed ways for the two sides to jointly address current challenges and shared maritime concerns, particularly in the South China Sea”, the embassy added.
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The plan for the Philippine coastguard was announced by the US State Department’s bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement during last week’s dialogue.
Washington’s vow of support for Manila came at a time of high tension in the Indo-Pacific, a vast region whose natural resources and commercially vital waterways have made it “a top regional priority” for the US coastguard.
Frictions between Washington and Beijing have strained relations between the two economic giants in trade, investment and technology, with their pitched competition for global clout shaping their military and diplomatic dealings.
In its latest operational posture statement released on Friday, the US coastguard said it would keep expanding its presence and cooperation in Southeast Asia and South Asia, focusing on training, deployment and capacity building.
One of Washington’s oldest allies in Asia, Manila has of late found itself locked in intense maritime confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.
China’s extensive claims in the strategically important waterway have been challenged by a number of rival claimants across Southeast Asia.
The Philippine and Chinese coastguards have engaged in sometimes violent stand-offs near Sabina Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. The disputes have fuelled regional concerns that the skirmishes could lead to sustained armed conflict.
Beijing has accused the Philippines of aligning with the US in the superpower rivalry, while officials in Manila and Washington have repeatedly condemned China’s activities in the waters as “increasingly dangerous and unlawful”.
China’s coastguard is regarded as the world’s largest, counting in its ranks some of the heaviest vessels ever made, including at least three 12,000-tonne coastguard cutters that dwarf the fleets of their Southeast Asian counterparts.
The largest and most modern vessels of the Philippine coastguard are the 97-metre (318-foot), 2,260-tonne multi-role response ship BRP Teresa Magbanua and the BRP Melchora Aquino, which were built in Japan and commissioned in 2022.
A clash with China’s coastguard in August near Sabina Shoal in August left the BRP Teresa Magbanua with “structural damage”, the Philippine coastguard said at the time.
More from South China Morning Post:
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