Japan announces aid for Philippines

MANILA (AFP) - Japan announced Tuesday it would give the Philippines nearly 12 million dollars to help the country build a flood warning system and improve maritime safety as part of anti-terror measures.

Of the 1,388 million yen (11.67 million dollars) in aid, 609 million yen will go to improving the maritime safety communication system for the Philippine Coast Guard, the Japanese government said in a statement in Manila.

The improvement "should help speed up the decision-making process related to rescue and anti-terror actions," it said.

The rest of the money will go toward improvement of the flood forecasting and warning system in the Pampanga and Agno river basins, Japan said.

The grants were announced after Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso met his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo on the sidelines of Asia's main regional security meeting, known as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The meeting groups the 10 member states from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Australia, Russia, North Korea, South Korea and others.