United States' Defence Secretary Ash Carter has revealed that the US will station close to 300 military troops, including Air Force commandos with combat aircrafts and helicopters, in the Philippines by the end of this month.

Carter made the revelation in a joint statement with his Philippines counterpart Voltaire Gazmi in Manila on Thursday, April 14. The US Defense Secretary said that American ships have already started conducting joint patrols with Philippines in the South China Sea. This is part of a military build-up, which experts have warned is going to exacerbate tensions with China on the issue of South China Sea.

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According to the Pentagon, some US troops, who are currently in Manila to participate in the Balikatan or shoulder-to-shoulder combat exercises, will stay back in the Philippines. Close to 200 airmen, including special operations troops, will be staying back at the Clark Air Base, along with three of their Pave Hawk attack helicopters, an MC130 H Combat Talon-II special mission aircraft and five A-10 combat aircraft.

Reacting to this development, the left wing Bayan (Nation), an umbrella group of Philippine nationalist and anti-U.S. organisations, criticised the military cooperation agreement as a step by the U.S. military to create a long term presence in the Philippines as a platform from which it could control the region.

China is laying claim to a large portion of the South China Sea, which is believed to have massive deposits of oil and gas. Neighboring countries such as Taiwan, Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam have competing claims in the area.

TagsUSA, Philippines, Ash Carter, South China Sea, china