MANILA (DPA) - US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday (Nov 19) vowed more support for the Philippines in its efforts to modernise its military and improve maritime security as tensions build over the disputed South China Sea.

Mr Esper, who was in Manila for a one-day visit, said he and Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana discussed various ways to strengthen cooperation and further boost the two countries' decades-old alliance.