MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 11, 2012) – American and Filipino sailors are working together to repair and maintain two ships now docked at Subic Bay in the Philippines, a U.S. Embassy statement said on Tuesday.
It said the sailors from the USS Frank Cable and the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar are exchanging knowledge, honing basic engineering and technical skills, and improving their ships’ interoperability.
“The USS Frank Cable’s routine port call and goodwill visit highlights the mutual benefits of the Philippine-U.S. defense relationship, as well as the strong historic, community, and military connections between the two countries,” the statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The exchange of knowledge and materials is made possible by the Acquisition Cross Servicing Agreement between the Philippines and the U.S., which enables the two countries to meet material requirements.
In this case, Philippine Navy headquarters and the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group of the U.S. Embassy in Manila worked together to coordinate immediate funding in order to get the necessary repair parts into the hands of Sailors while the USS Frank Cable is docked in Subic Bay, according to the statement.
The USS Frank Cable, an L.Y. Spear class submarine tender, arrived in Subic Bay on September 3. The Philippines obtained the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, a former U.S. Coast Guard Weather High Endurance Cutter, in 2011.
Filipino activists and communist rebels have protested the presence of U.S. military forces in the country, saying, the frequent visits of American ships to Subic Bay cast doubts to Washington’s interest in building its forces in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines.
Subic Bay was a former U.S. naval base. (Mindanao Examiner)
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