THE two military surveillance planes given by Japan to the Philippines will be used to patrol the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and Benham Rise.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines received on Monday the first two of five Beechcraft TC-90 planes leased from Japan.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said said the aircraft will patrol the disputed South China Sea and Benham Rise, where there were reported presence of Chinese survey ships.
The 13-million hectare Benham Rise, located east of Luzon, is believed to be potentially rich in mineral and natural gas.
Lorenzana earlier said that there is a possibility that China is exploring Benham Rise, adding that a Chinese ship was monitored plying the territory for about three months last year.
On April 12, 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf declared that the Philippines has undisputed territorial claim to Benham Rise.
Japan's attempt to bolster defense cooperation with the country was during China's aggressive claim on the South China Sea, including waters near the Philippines.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which some parts are also claimed by the Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The lease of the five TC-90 planes was announced last year during the Aquino administration, which took a tough stance against Beijing's claim over the South China Sea.
At present, the Duterte administration is in a conciliatory stance to Beijing's claims over the disputed waters.
President Rodrigo Duterte refused to insist the Philippines' sovereign rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea, despite winning the arbitration case it filed against China.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines, noting that China has invalid claims to most parts of the contested island. (DDA/SunStar Philippines)