US military deploys drone unit to PH amid WPS dispute with China

The United States Marine Corps has deployed a Reaper drone unit to the Philippines in an effort to bolster the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security capacity in the face of China's aggressive actions.

In a message to GMA News, the US Marine Corp Forces in the Pacific said the drone deployment was in response to a request by the Philippines.

It noted that the drones were unarmed, and that their stationing was on a temporary basis.

"At the request of the Philippine government, Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 1 is temporarily deployed to the Philippines to support Philippine regional maritime security through shared maritime domain awareness," a spokesman for the US Marine Corps Forces Pacific said.

The spokesman confirmed information about the drone deployment as reported by USNI News, which said the VMU 1 was an Arizona-based unit formation equipped with MQ-9A Reapers.

The move "demonstrates mutual commitment to improving the collective maritime security and supports our common goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific," the spokesman reiterated to GMA News.

According to the USNI News report, the I Marine Expeditionary Force previously confirmed the presence of Reaper drones at Basa Air Base in Pampanga back in June 2024. 

To recall, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner and US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) chief General Samuel Paparo visited Basa Air Base in August last year.

Their visit was meant to check on improvements and upgrades at the Basa Air Base, one the Philippines' sites under its Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States.

Late last week, the Pentagon announced that the two allied countries have formed Task Force Philippines to strengthen cooperation and increase military readiness in areas including the South China Sea.

Brawner has said the new task force would be bigger than Task Force Ayungin, a bilateral military task force formed by Manila and Washington in 2024, as it will cover more areas in the West Philippine Sea and not just the contested Ayungin Shoal.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. recently expressed hope that the new task force would lower tensions in the West Philippine Sea. — VDV, GMA Integrated News