MANILA: A small plane that crashed in the southern Philippines on Thursday (Feb 6), killing at least four people on board, was contracted by the American military, the United States embassy

Witnesses say aircraft was flying low, apparently surveying Muslim-majority region in southern Bangsamoro - Anadolu Ajansı

MANILA: A small plane crashed on a farm in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing four people on board, authorities said. Police said they had not yet determined the cause of the crash of the fixed-wing aircraft near the farming municipality of Ampatuan on Mindanao island.

According to Philippine media reports, the US, the Philippines, Australia, and Japan held a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea on Wednesday. At the same time, Philippine media did not hesitate to hype the so-called Chinese "monster ship.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines during a call with his counterpart in Manila in the face of geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea.