Naval forces from the Philippines and US held joint exercises on Friday.
The two sides shared techniques in sea reconnaissance that could come in handy as Manila shores up its capabilities to patrol its maritime territories, a Philippine naval officer said.
The joint naval exercises, now in its 19th year, are aimed at improving cooperation between the two allies in maintaining regional maritime security, addressing trafficking and smuggling, and responding to disasters.
Around 200 Filipino and 600 U.S. personnel joined the annual Cooperation, Afloat, Readiness and Training (CARAT).
US forces demonstrated the use of their unmanned aerial system, which can be used for sea surveillance and convoy, and tracking target positions.
They said a similar system was used before in helping to capture a leader from the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group.
The Kevlar radio-controlled plane, weighing 6 kilos, can fly up to 10,000 feet at a speed of 40 nautical miles.
Images taken by a camera inside the unit can be monitored by squadron members on the boat. It is also capable of capturing infrared images.
"The unmanned aerial vehicle will be a very very important tool in our operations in safeguarding the entire maritime territories," public affairs officer for the Philippine Navy, Lieutenant Junior Grade Rommel Rodriguez said.
Troops also practised insertion and extraction operations on inflatable boats and firing of light machine guns.
Humanitarian activities were also part of this year's training.
"I think that over time two forces working together builds both camaraderie and capabilities. And right now that's been demonstrated with the US and Philippines. And what I've learned here is they have a few practices, that I'm not going to go in depth about, that I'm definitely going to take back to my unit," said Senior Chief Jeremy Eden of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Civil Affairs Security and Training unit.
Though some of this year's joint exercises will be held in waters facing the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Chinese and Philippine vessels faced off last year, naval commanders from the U.S. and Philippines said that the exercises were routine, and were not related to maritime tensions.
US ships have been traversing the region more, as Beijing grows more assertive in the South China Sea, which is claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines - one of Asia's biggest flashpoints.
The frequency of US Navy ships passing through Subic Bay, a former US naval base, has increased dramatically, underlining its strategic importance near vital sea lanes and just 130 nautical miles (241 km) east of Scarborough Shoal, a rock formation controlled by China since a tense two-month stand-off with the Philippines in 2012.
The maritime dispute will again loom large over regional diplomacy next week when US Secretary of State John Kerry joins his counterparts from Southeast Asian nations and China among other countries for an annual summit in Brunei.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/06/28/13/us-shows-use-drone-philippine-navy
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