Manila allays neighbours' fears

Manila: Plans by the Philippines to build up its defence capabilities should not be a cause for alarm for the country's neighbours, presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

"We believe that it will affect the country's relations with other countries, particularly our neighbours. We believe it is understandable for a country like us to upgrade its military," Valte said in an interview by radio station dzRB.

Valte made the statement after senior defence officials and diplomats of the United States and the Philippines wrapped up annual talks on Thursday and Friday in Washington. During the talks, both sides agreed to boost military cooperation in the areas of training, search and rescue, counter-terrorism and piracy, as well as enforce freedom of navigation.

Referring to the annual security talks, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario said: "Yes, it is to our definite advantage to be exploring how to maximise our treaty alliance with the United States in ways that would be mutually acceptable and beneficial.

Assistance

"If there could be the possibility of threats to our national interest in terms of, say, territorial disputes, we should be prepared to deal with these issues diplomatically. To complement the diplomatic approach we must at the very least also endeavour to achieve a minimum credible defence posture," he said in a statement,

He said the US, as the Philippines' treaty ally, "has offered to help us".

"Beyond responding to some of our needs in terms of military equipment and training, to compensate for our lack of resources, we would want to additionally explore other means of acceptable assistance and cooperation from the US such as, for instance, planning more joint exercises to promote interoperability and a rotating and more frequent presence by them," he said.

Warship deployment

The Philippines has been building up its defence in the West Philippine Sea area with the deployment of its biggest warship, the 3,250-tonne patrol frigate BRP Gregorio del Pilar, as well as plans to send two more vessels of the same class to the area in the coming months.

The country has also revealed plans to acquire a squadron of F-16s.

According to the UK-based independent defence analyst Janes' Information Group, the Philippines has been building up its defence capabilities over the past several years as shown in its military expenditure.

The expenditure for fiscal year 2011 soared 81 per cent to 104.5 billion pesos (Dh8.91 billion) from 76.3 billion pesos in 2010.

The Philippines and China, as well as other countries in the South China Sea area, have been increasingly caught in disputes over navigation rights in the vital sea lane.