US and Philippine officials will meet this week to discuss
expanding American presence in the Asian nation, a senior diplomat said,
amid tensions with China over its claims to vast waters in the region.
The meetings in Manila on Tuesday and Wednesday will have a special
focus on defense and regional matters, Philippine Assistant Secretary
for US affairs Carlos Sorreta told reporters.
"Foremost in the agenda is the increased rotational presence" of US forces in the Philippines, he said Monday.
This refers to US troops and ships passing through the country for
training or exercises, circumventing a constitutional ban on foreign
bases in the Philippines.
He said the meetings
with US assistant secretaries for defense and state was not about the
territorial dispute between the Philippines and China in the West
Philippine Sea [South China Sea].
But he said
"as public officials answerable to their people and their security, its
very difficult not to discuss the West Philippine Sea," using Manila's
term for the South China Sea.
The two countries'
officials will discuss boosting the number of visits of American
troops, ships and aircraft while increasing US defense aid to the
poorly-equipped Philippine military, Sorreta said.
The discussions will also look at more training for Filipino troops and increased help in humanitarian and disaster relief.
A rotating force of 600 US Special Forces has been stationed in
Mindanao since 2002 to help train local troops in how to combat Islamic
militants.
The Philippines has sought to boost
its ties with the United States in recent years following increasing
aggressiveness by China in claiming virtually the entire South China
Sea, even up to the coasts of its neighbors.
In
October, a Philippine official said a former US naval base in this
country facing the West Philippine Sea could play a key role as a hub
for American ships as Washington moves to strengthen its presence in the
Asia-Pacific.
Tensions with China have
increased since April following a standoff between Philippine and
Chinese ships over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal which both claim as their
territory.
Sorreta said China should not be alarmed by the effort to improve Philippine-US ties.
But, he stressed, "with our without the Americans, we will take our stand." — Agence France-Presse
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