Philippines Fights Ownership for Territorial Seas – Strengthen Military Defense

Philippines Fights Ownership for Territorial Seas - Strengthen Military Defense

Manila, Philippines - Benigno Aquino, Philippine President, vowed Tuesday to strengthen its military defense at the South China Sea where the country claims a group of islands at the mineral-rich Spratly Group of Islands. The newest addition to upgrade the Philippine military defense has already reached Manila Bay.

Aquino said that naval ship symbolizes the Philippines' ability to protect, fight and guard for the interests of the whole country. The ship, a refurbished Hamilton class cutter, has been donated by the United States Coast Guard to the Philippines. The ship's name now is Gregorio del Pilar. President Aquino also said that the ship signifies more good news to come as he boldly said that the Philippines won't just settle for one ship. The ship is now the Philippines' flagship vessel and seeks to protect the territorial seas of the Philippine Archipelago including exclusive zones and exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea also known as South China Sea.

Aside from the Philippines and China, Spratly Islands are also being claimed by Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam. Recently, tensions have rose after the Philippines accused China of being too aggressive to other Southeast Asian Nations also claiming the group of islands after Filipino fishermen were suddenly welcomed by Chinese Navy with warning shots. Vietnam was on Philippines' side when it also accused China of handling situations very aggressively. Before the tension will escalate further, the Philippines has asked for the help of its strong ally, the United States, due to its inferior military defense with less than 80 vessels as compared to China's mighty naval prowess. The United States in turn has responded positively to the appeal of the Philippines.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday August 24 2011, 8:23 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0