U.S. to Send Second Ship to Bolster Philippines

[golmaal]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. will soon give a second Coast Guard cutter to the Philippines as part of efforts to boost the ally’s military amid tensions at sea with China, officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. last year transferred its Hamilton cutter to the Philippines, which made it the flagship of its notoriously dilapidated navy and recently sent it on a mission to the disputed Spratly islands.

Lawmakers will this week conclude formalities to send to the former U.S. colony another cutter, the Dallas, Representative Ed Royce and senior Pentagon official Peter Lavoy told a congressional hearing.

“It should soon be on its way to Manila,” said Royce, a Republican from southern California whose district has a significant Filipino American community.

“The U.S. and the Philippines want peace and stability in this region, which is key to the global economy,” Royce said as he chaired the hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.

The Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries have accused China of bellicose behavior over disputes in the South China Sea. Despite historical sensitivities about U.S. troops, the Philippines has said it would welcome further rotations by U.S. forces on its soil and more joint exercises.

Lavoy, the top civilian at the Pentagon handling East Asia, said that the U.S. was “considering a range of military capabilities” as it helps the Philippines move from “an inward focus on domestic threats to an outwardly focused military that needs to be reorganized to address external concerns.”

But Lavoy was noncommittal when asked whether the U.S. would be willing to provide F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, saying it was critical to look at affordability and other factors.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said that cooperation also depended on human rights. Congress has blocked $3 million due to concerns over extrajudicial killings by the Philippine military.

“Although the pace of killings has declined, trying and convicting perpetrators remains an ongoing challenge,” Campbell told the hearing.

But Campbell praised Philippine President Benigno Aquino for addressing human rights and other U.S. concerns, including human trafficking.

U.S. to Send Second Ship to Bolster Philippines | Gannett Government Media | defensenews.com

 

[ManilaBoy45]

USCGC Dallas WHEC-716 is scheduled to be transfer to the PN in May under the FMS program, it was formally decommissioned last friday the 30th of March ...


Coast Guard Cutter Dallas decommissioned - Charleston, SC | Breaking News, Sports, Weather


*Photo release* Coast Guard Cutter Dallas decommissioned

 

[Pakchina]

A real true asset for a country which is battling against poverty, the only South East Asian country which cannot pull its economy out of poverty and recession, a country which has received more influx of Chinese direct investment than from the US, a country which has thousand of its citizens working in China and Hong Kong and finally a country which is facing islamic insurgencies. This ship with its Aegis combat suystem, anti aircraft, tomahawk and harpoon anti-ship missiles would threaten the entire Chinese navy and it would be a game changer in the South China Sea. This is really the joke of the century.

 

[khanz]

A real true asset for a country which is battling against poverty, the only South East Asian country which cannot pull its economy out of poverty and recession, a country which has received more influx of Chinese direct investment than from the US, a country which has thousand of its citizens working in China and Hong Kong and finally a country which is facing islamic insurgencies. This ship with its Aegis combat suystem, anti aircraft, tomahawk and harpoon anti-ship missiles would threaten the entire Chinese navy and it would be a game changer in the South China Sea. This is really the joke of the century.

c'mon I dunno why your hating on them any country with a weak military is happy to get any help they can fyi I dunno if your pakistani or chinese but if your pakistani then we are in no position to talk about the phillipines we are not exactly a poverty free country ourselves their GDP with half the population is higher than pakistan's their HDI and literacy rate is also far higher.

 

[ManilaBoy45]

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A real true asset for a country which is battling against poverty, the only South East Asian country which cannot pull its economy out of poverty and recession, a country which has received more influx of Chinese direct investment than from the US, a country which has thousand of its citizens working in China and Hong Kong and finally a country which is facing islamic insurgencies. This ship with its Aegis combat suystem, anti aircraft, tomahawk and harpoon anti-ship missiles would threaten the entire Chinese navy and it would be a game changer in the South China Sea. This is really the joke of the century.

This post must be the 'JOKE' of the year since you posted it on April Fools Day and none of it is true, besides the Philippines has always been ahead of Pakistan in the worldwide GDP listings ...

List of countries by GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia