US Military to Help Philippines Monitor Coastal Waters

The US military said it plans to provide a land-based radar to the Philippines, to help track ships off the island nation's coast line (photo : Raytheon)

The US military has said it planned to help the Philippines monitor its coastal waters as Manila faces an escalating dispute with China over territorial claims.

The Pentagon revised earlier comments and said there was no firm plan to deliver a land-based radar to the Philippines, but that a radar could be part of future assistance.

"We are in the initial planning stages of assisting the Philippines with a National Coast Watch Center," Major Catherine Wilkinson told AFP.

The centre is designed "to create an overall picture of what is going on in the Philippines' territorial waters," she said.

"Right now we are discussing a range of options and no details have been finalised. Radars may be an eventual part of the package but it hasn't been determined yet."

The cost and the time line for the project were still being worked out, she said.

(The Telegraph)