US to build fast boat base near South China Sea
In a seeming bid to counter increasingly aggressive Chinese activities in the South China Sea, the U.S. plans to finance and construct a fast boat facility on the western coast of Palawan in the Philippines.
The facility will be built to launch at least five fast boats, which will be constructed by U.S.-based company ReconCraft. The manufacturer specializes in producing vessels used by law enforcement and the military for rapid interdiction.
According to documents, the vessels will include both "assault boats" and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, USNI News has reported.
The facility, which will also include on-site storage and conference rooms, will provide the Armed Forces of the Philippines with an effective launch point for patrols into the South China Sea.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed in increasingly hostile interactions in the region, especially as China has used aggressive tactics to assert its claims over a variety of uninhabitable reefs and shoals.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-to-build-fast-boat-base-near-south-china-sea/ar-AA1IJ8Ff?ocid=BingNewsSerp
