The US is giving the Philippines two used military aircraft to help it expand sea patrols in the face of territorial disputes with China. The two Sherpa 30-seater aircraft will be delivered in December.
It will help Phillipines in the movements of the Philippine Coast Guard like patrol missions.
The Sherpas would help the coast guard augment its meagre air patrol capability, now comprised of two old Britten-Norman Islanders.
Phillipines which has one of Asia’s weakest militaries, has been trying to improve defence ties with its former colonial ruler USA and other allies.
The Philippines has expressed concern about China’s massive island-building over reefs, some of them claimed by Manila, in the South China Sea.
Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also have competing claims to parts of the sea, through which USD 5 trillion in annual trade passes.