Philippines to build new islands port near Taiwan without U.S. help, governor says

The U.S. military will not be involved in development of a port in the Philippines' remote northernmost islands near Taiwan, the local governor said on Friday, removing a potential source of friction with China over the U.S. presence in the region. The governor of the Batanes islands, less than 200 km (125 miles) from Taiwan, said in August she had sought U.S. funding for a new port there. "At first they said they will help but later on, no more, so I asked help from PPA," Governor Marilou Cayco told Reuters in a message, referring to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).