US gives Manila six patrol boats to counter terrorists
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The United States turned over six patrol boats to the Philippine Navy to help fight terrorists in Mindanao, the Philippine Navy said yesterday.
The small unit riverine craft (SURC) “will be deployed to augment our sea-based forces to address terrorism and lawlessness such as the current crisis in Mindanao”, Vice Admiral Jose Luis Montano Alano, Philippine Navy’s flag officer-in-command, said.
The six SURC would also be used for counter-drug operations, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping and evacuation operations, the navy said.
The US has been helping the Philippines fight militants in Mindanao since 2002, including supplying troops to help with training and intelligence in the region’s Zamboanga City, where the Philippine military has been fighting rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front since September 9.
The Philippines used to host the largest overseas US air and naval bases, but the facilities were shut down more than two decades ago.
