publish time

13/01/2016

author name Arab Times

publish time

13/01/2016

author name Arab Times
State Secretary John Kerry (second from right), joined by, (from left), Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Philippines Foreign Relations Secretary Albert Del Rosario, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaks during a meeting between the US and the Philippines delegation on Jan 12, in the Benjamin Franklin room of the State Department in Washington. (AP) State Secretary John Kerry (second from right), joined by, (from left), Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Philippines Foreign Relations Secretary Albert Del Rosario, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaks during a meeting between the US and the Philippines delegation on Jan 12, in the Benjamin Franklin room of the State Department in Washington. (AP)

MANILA, Jan 13, (AFP): The Philippine Supreme Court ruled Tuesday a security accord with the United States was legal, allowing more US forces into the former American colony as it seeks to counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea.

The 10-year agreement, signed in 2014 but not implemented due to legal challenges, will see more US troops and warships rotate through the Philippines, and the hosts will receive help in building military facilities. Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said the accord was upheld with a 10-4 vote, ruling that President Benigno Aquino’s government had the authority to sign the pact and did not need congressional approval.