MANILA — The US on Monday turned over to the Philippine Coast Guard a P250-million training facility that is expected to boost its capability to protect the country's waters.

The US-funded Specialized Education and Technical Building in Balagtas, Bulacan will help train coast guard personnel on navigation, law enforcement, and maintenance of ships, said PCG Vice Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan.

“They will have classroom instructions and may simulator tayo, meron tayong laboratory for the engine room. Lahat nandidito except for the physical water,” he said.

During the turnover, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said the United States stands with the PCG in defending Philippine sovereign rights and in upholding a rules-based international order.

The US Coast Guard will be actively involved in training programs and projects in the facility that took 6 years to complete due to pandemic delays, Carlson said.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen 6 years of buildup in the West Philippine Sea as well,” she said.

“It’s really important that we have a long term commitment to the Coast Guard, to the people of the Philippines because we are truly steadfast friends, we are partners in prosperity and we are ironclad allies and that’s a mutual defense treaty that we have.”

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the West Philippine Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually.

China has ignored an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. It deploys hundreds of vessels to patrol the sea and swarm reefs.

• US, Vietnam warn against 'threat or use of force' in South China Sea

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Last week, the Philippines accused Chinese Coast Guard and "militia" boats of harassing two PCG vessels as they took supplies to Filipino troops on the Ayungin Shoal.

The PCG eyes increasing its personnel to around 70,000 from the current 30,000 in about a decade.

Its short term goal is to hire at least 7,000 new personnel in the next 2 years to boost the security of the Philippines' 37,000-kilometer coastline.

“The Coast Guard has several functions, so kailangan naming paramihin ang aming mga tauhan, able and willing na mga tauhan, upang magampanan yung aming tatlong major functions: safety, security and environmental,” Gavan said.

— With reports from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse

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