Australia gifts drones to Philippine Coast Guard amid maritime tensions with China

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL - Australia gave 20 aerial drones to the Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday as tensions continued to rise in the South China Sea.

The Australian Embassy in Manila said Ambassador HK Yu handed over the drones to boost the coast guard's maritime domain capabilities.

"Another great example of how we are implementing our Strategic Partnership," the embassy said in a Facebook post, adding that the delivery followed a request from the Philippine Coast Guard.

Australian drone experts also visited Manila to provide four days of training to 30 members of the coast guard's Aviation Command Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Squadron.

Separately, the China Coast Guard said Tuesday it drove away a Philippine vessel that had "repeatedly harassed" a Chinese ship patrolling near Huangyan Dao, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

The coast guard said the Philippine vessel made multiple dangerous maneuvers on Sunday and Monday, crossing close to the bow of the Chinese ship in what it described as a provocative act, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"The Philippine side had seriously disrupted China's law enforcement operations," the Chinese statement said.

The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, a region also contested by Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Beijing claims nearly the entire sea.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid