Published on Nov 17, 2011
MANILA (AP) - The Philippine defence chief says the United States will provide a second warship as his country's ill-equipped military confronts China in increasingly tense territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin says US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assured him during talks in Manila on Wednesday that Washington will give the Philippine navy a second Coast Guard cutter virtually for free.
The first second-hand cutter from the US Coast Guard sailed into Manila in August and became the most modern vessel in the dilapidated Philippine fleet.
Ms Clinton gave a strong assurance that the US will help strengthen the local navy, which has been at the forefront of safeguarding Manila-claimed territories in the disputed Spratly Islands.
