Philippines May Request U.S. Spy Planes Over South China Sea

Philippines May Request U.S. Spy Planes Over South China Sea by NTDTelevision

 On Monday, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he might request spy planes from the United States to keep watch over disputed areas of the South China Sea. Many believe this move could harm the Philippines' already tense relations with China...over potentially significant oil and gas deposits.

President Aquino told Reuters in an interview that he was considering requesting the US P3C Orion spy planes.

[Benigno Aquino, Philippine President]:
"We might be requesting for overflights of that. That doesn't preclude us. We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."

China has long warned "external forces" not to interfere in the dispute. The United States has said it remains neutral, but last year the US Pacific Command offered to deploy P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines to help monitor the disputed waters, after China increased its activities near Reed Bank. The Pentagon also offered to share real-time surveillance data with the Philippines.

Just two weeks ago, both nations pulled out boats that had been locked in a standoff in Scarborough Shoal, a rocky area of the disputed waters.

[Benigno Aquino, Philippine President]:
"I think the Philippines has demonstrated time and again its interest to preserve the peace and the de-escalation of the situation. But we don't exist in a vacuum. We would want to see China reciprocate all of these moves that we've done as far as de-escalating the tensions."

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland would not comment on this specific issue, but said that, (quote) "as part of our long-standing cooperation, the United States supports the Philippines in enhancing its maritime awareness."