Palace: US to assist PHL in creating coast watch system

The United States has committed to assist the Philippines in creating a coast watch system, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

According to a note by Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr., US President Barack Obama pledged to President Benigno Aquino III the US' help in establishing a National Coast Watch Center.

The NCWC is an inter-agency mechanism which aims to enhance maritime border security and governance in the country's maritime domain, as stated in Executive Order No. 57 issued September 2011.

US firm Raytheon has bagged the project worth $18 million.

Coloma said the US also wants to "promote" enhanced maritime information sharing with its allies, among them the Philippines, Japan, and Australia, because this would be helpful in "managing" maritime conflicts and disputes.

The Philippines is locked in an ongoing territorial dispute with China over parts of the South China Sea.

It has taken the matter to international arbitration, which China rejected right away.

Earlier in the day, Obama said the US will come to the defense of the country in case of an attack.

A day before this, however, he said their goal is not to "counter" or "contain" China.

Obama was in Manila for a two-day state visit. He left on Tuesday. — Kimberly Jane Tan/BM, GMA News