PH Navy seeks military aid from Japan

From ABS-CBN (Dec 22): PH Navy seeks military aid from Japan

The Philippine Navy is seeking Japan’s assistance to boost security over its maritime territory.

Navy vice commander and Navy Modernization Board chairman Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad said a list of equipment that will be requested from Japan is currently being prepared.

This comes on the heels of Japan’s decision early this year to reinterpret its Constitution and allow the military to exercise a right to
“collective self-defense.”

This move gained criticisms, especially from China, which has been in a tug-of-war with Japan over the East China Sea.

"We need enough vessels to patrol those maritime areas. So the list would probably include patrol vessels and (other) vessels that we can use for HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) for government-support activity,” Taccad said.

Both the Philippines and China have insisted on jurisdiction over areas in the resource-rich South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. The other claimants are Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Navy spokesman Col. Edgardo Arevalo said: "We in the Philippine Navy are the ones preparing the list and seeks Japan's benevolence."

"The list is comprised mostly of HADR equipment like logistics, transport ships, and sea planes, among other capacity-building equipment," he added.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/22/14/ph-navy-seeks-military-aid-japan