Tolentino: Manila visit of US Seventh Fleet ship shows 'strong PH-US alliance'

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Majority Leader Francis "Tol" Tolentino on Friday said that the visit of USS Blue Ridge (LLC), the flagship of the Seventh Fleet of the United States (US) Navy, shows the "strong alliance" between the United States and the Philippines amid the escalation of confrontations involving Filipino and Chinese forces deployed at the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Tolentino and US Ambassador MaryKay L. Carlson welcomed the USS Blue Ridge at the South Harbor in Manila on Thursday, as both underscored the importance of this visit in affirming the alliance between the two countries.

He said officials of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard were also present to welcome the arrival of the USS Blue Ridge, a ship with the primary role of providing command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to the commander and staff of the United States' Seventh Fleet.

Tolentino also noted a significant number of Filipino-Americans who are members of the US Navy.

"We talked about what happened the previous days, and this visit shows strong relations between the United States and the Philippines," he stressed.

On June 17, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed that Chinese ships had rammed boats of Filipino troops who were on a resupply mission to bring food to soldiers stationed at BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal.