PNoy backs US warship deployment near China's artificial islands

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday welcomed the deployment of US Navy warships near China's artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea.

During the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines' annual presidential forum, Aquino said he sees no issue in the sailing of US vessels in the disputed waters.

Aquino said freedom of navigation should not be impeded.

"So long as everybody conforms to established international rules and laws, then I don’t think the Philippines should have any negative apprehensions about these acts," Aquino said.

"And if we say we are in support of freedom of navigation for everybody, then we seek to hamper anybody’s travel, that I think seems to be inconsistent," he added.

When pressed about the issue, Aquino said, "I think everybody would welcome a balance of power anywhere in the world."

The Associated Press reported that a US Navy ship sailed near an artificial island built by China in the West Philippine Sea to challenge Beijing's "excessive claim" of sovereignty in those waters.

A US defense official said the White House approved the movement by the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, inside what China claims as a 12-nautical mile (22-kilometer) territorial limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago, a disputed group of hundreds of reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the South China Sea.

The patrol was completed without incident, the defense official told the Associated Press. - Louis Bacani with AP