Australia supplies Philippines with drones amid South China Sea tensions
(MENAFN) Australia has supplied the Philippine Coast Guard with 20 aerial drones on Tuesday, a move that comes as tensions continue to escalate in the South China Sea. The Australian Embassy in Manila announced the handover by Ambassador HK Yu, stating the drones aim to enhance the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness capabilities.
In a Facebook post, the embassy described the donation "Another great example of how we are implementing our Strategic Partnership," adding that the delivery followed a request from the Philippine Coast Guard. Australian drone specialists also conducted a four-day training program in Manila for 30 members of the Coast Guard's Aviation Command Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Squadron.
Separately, the China Coast Guard reported on Tuesday that it had driven away a Philippine vessel that had "repeatedly harassed" a Chinese ship patrolling near Huangyan Dao, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc. According to reports, the Chinese coast guard claimed the Philippine vessel made multiple dangerous maneuvers on Sunday and Monday, including crossing close to the bow of the Chinese ship in what they termed a provocative act. "The Philippine side had seriously disrupted China's law enforcement operations," the Chinese remark read.
The South China Sea, a resource-abundant area also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, sees overlapping territorial assertions from the Philippines and China. Beijing maintains its claim over nearly the entire region.
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