MANILA, Feb 10: The US Congress has approved the transfer of a second Coast Guard ship to the Philippines, an official said on Friday as Washington shifts its military ties with the Southeast Asian nation that has been engaged in a territorial spat with China.

In the past, US cooperation with the Philippines has focused mostly on counterterrorism, but it has recently expanded to building up the country’s moribund navy.

Assistant US Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro told reporters on Friday that he will consider a Philippine request to have the warship turned over with as much military equipment as possible.

“I’m pleased that the congressional notification period for a second Coast Guard cutter expired this week, so that means Congress has now approved the transfer … to the Philippines, which will further help Philippine security needs,” he said after talks with Filipino defence officials in Manila.

The ship — the second such delivery since last May under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty — is just one of many defence projects that the US is discussing with the Philippines. That comes in addition to having American ships regularly visit and refuel in Philippine ports, rotating US troops in the southern Philippines where Al Qaeda-linked Muslim militants are active and holding large-scale joint military exercises.

China has said that it views with concern the increased US military engagement with the Philippines and balked at what it sees as Washington’s interference in the South China Sea dispute. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have conflicting territorial claims over potentially gas and oil rich islands with the Asian superpower.

The Philippines last year accused Chinese vessels of harassing its oil exploration ships and laying claim to areas within its territorial waters.

Shapiro reiterated the US policy that it takes no position on the claims by any of the parties, that disputes should not be resolved through the use of force and that its defence cooperation with the Philippines is not directed against any one country.

But he also said that his government is committed to helping the Philippines in its security needs and “fully intends to meet its obligations under the Mutual Defence Treaty.”

The increased focus on strengthening Philippine naval assets, which have lagged behind those of its neighbours and are no match to China’s superior military, comes a decade after American troops started training Filipino soldiers and sharing intelligence with them in a campaign to rout out Al Qaeda-linked militants. They are blamed for a series of bombing attacks and kidnapping sprees mostly in the country’s southern island provinces.—AP