Obama touts maritime ties in the Philippines

President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin after arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. Obama will participate in the Apec CEO Summit in Manila, which is part of a nine-day foreign trip that also included a stop in Turkey for the G-20 Summit, before traveling to Malaysia to attend the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. AP

MANILA, Philippines — President Barack Obama says the US will transfer two ships to the Philippine Navy as part of an effort to boost maritime security in the Southeast Asian nation.

READ: US President Barack Obama arrives in PH for Apec

Obama says the US will transfer a research vessel to help navigate territorial waters and a US Coast Guard cutter. He announced the transfer Tuesday after touring the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Philippine Navy warship once owned by the US and now considered one of the most advanced in Southeast Asia.

Obama says the US has an “ironclad” commitment to security in the Philippines.

READ: Obama, Aquino may discuss Edca, South China Sea row during PH visit–US envoy

The US has tried to boost security ties with the Philippines in a bid to check China’s territorial ambitions in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Obama is in Manila attending the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.