MANILA: A US drone believed to be used for reconnaissance was recovered yesterday in waters off the central Philippines, police and naval authorities said.
Fishermen found the
3.65-metre drone floating off Masbate island and dragged it to shore, said provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Heriberto Olitoquit.
They initially thought they had hauled in a bomb and alerted police, Olitoquit said.
“A technical evaluation determined that the object is one unmanned aerial vehicle,” Olitoquit told reporters.
Olitoquit said the drone had been turned over to the Philippine Navy, which would conduct a thorough investigation.
“It appears to have been floating for quite some time,” Captain Rommel Galang, deputy commander of naval forces in the area, said.
“We will first study this drone but initially it appears to be a UAV used largely in reconnaissance.”
He said it had inscriptions and a serial number that “indicate it is an American drone”.
Galang said the US embassy had been informed of the discovery and local authorities would eventually turn it over to them. In an interview last year, President Benigno Aquino confirmed US drones were allowed to fly across the Philippines for reconnaissance purposes, but were not allowed to conduct strikes.
The Philippines is a close American ally and has long relied on its former colonial ruler for help in dealing with its many security threats. The United States is also the Philippines’ biggest supplier of military hardware.
About 600 US forces have been rotating in the southern Philippines since 2002 to help train local troops to deal with Islamist militants. AFP
