THE United States government will provide two surveillance aircraft to help Philippines fight Islamic State-inspired terrorists in Marawi City.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said the American government is set to turn over two Cessna 208 aircraft that can be used for surveillance and intelligence gathering.
“We have been providing a very important support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in terms of information sharing, intelligence sharing, training, technical advice, as well as equipment grants,” Kim said in an interview over the ANC news channel.
“We’re going to do everything possible to support the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] as it tries to secure the area,” Kim said.
Kim said the support comes under the 50-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.
“I think everything we do is in a sense under the Mutual Defense Treaty. This is a very, very strong alliance by partners, allies, and friends. And we help our friends and partners in time of need, and the Marawi situation is clearly a very difficult situation for the Philippines,” the envoy said.
“I’ve say, I am very proud of our young men and women who served down there because they really are providing very important support to AFP in this very difficult period,” he added.
Kim admitted that the Philippines and the United States had gone through a “tough period” last year.
He said that under his watch, the diplomatic relationship between Manila and Washington has “dramatically improved.”
Also on Tuesday, Singapore offered a military package to help the Philippines fight terrorism.
The offer came from visiting Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during a courtesy call in Camp Aguinaldo Tuesday morning.
Lorenzana said the Singaporean government is offering assistance in the form of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, which will help in the battle against terrorists in Marawi City.
The assistance will also include food supplies and water purifiers for thousands of resident displaced by the fighting. With Francisco Tuyay