Philippines Eyes U.S. Defense Tech to Enforce Territorial Claims

Some defense analysts believe a pending 10-year security agreement between the Philippines and U.S. could increase U.S. sales of weapons and maritime surveillance equipment to the Philippines, Reuters reported last week.

“What Manila needs most in the way of military technology is weapons that can help enforce its claim to areas in the South China Sea,” Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, told Reuters.

Andrea Shalal writes that China has increasingly claimed territory in the South China Sea that the Philippines also claims. Thompson told Reuters that potential U.S. sales could include Boeing‘s P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, conventional munitions, small warships and Sikorsky Aircraft‘s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Byron Callan, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, told that the Philippines could limit its weapons purchases as it had a $2.2 billion defense budget in 2013.