NEW YORK (VIA PLDT)--Amid criticisms from Filipino militants, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will keep out of Philippine territory and merely stay "at the edge" of its waters, President Macapagal-Arroyo said here.

In a speech to the Filipino community on Wednesday at the Hilton Hotel ballroom, Ms Arroyo thanked the United States for sending the carrier to help victims of Typhoon "Frank" in the Philippines.

"Kaya lang may taga-ating nagbatikos na naman. May nuclear weapons daw ang aircraft carrier, kaya bawal raw pumunta sa Pilipinas. Para na lamang iwasan ang intriga, mananatili na lang ito sa dulo ng territorial waters ng Pilipinas," Ms Arroyo said.

(But there are those who are criticizing it. Supposedly the aircraft carrier is carrying nuclear weapons so it is barred from going to the Philippines. To avoid controversies, it will just stay at the edge of the territorial waters of the Philippines).

Asked about the specific location of the Ronald Reagan, the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Manila, Rebecca Thompson, said in a text message Friday: "Still in Sulu Sea, international waters."

In the past, US officials were not known to disclose the locations of their Navy ships.

Statements from military spokespersons in Western Visayas, also issued Friday, appeared to clash with the official pronouncements. They said in separate telephone interviews that the Ronald Reagan was near Panay Island.

Lt. Col. David Tan, public information officer of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, Friday said the aircraft carrier was around 50 km off the coast of northwest Panay, near the boundary of Antique and Aklan provinces.

Capt. Lowen Gil Marquez, chief of the 32nd Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Western Visayas, said the warship was "between 50 to 100 km west northwest of Panay."

Marquez said the vessel arrived around 2 p.m. Wednesday but was not able to go near Iloilo because of the shallow waters.

A good ally

In a report on Thursday, the British Reuters news agency said the carrier was "moored several miles off Panay island."

There was no immediate official explanation for the apparent disparities.

In her speech, Ms Arroyo recalled that after their White House meeting on Tuesday, President George W. Bush had dispatched the Ronald Reagan to help in the search and rescue of typhoon victims and the distribution of relief goods.

The carrier has about 6,000 sailors aboard.

"They sent the newest and largest Nimitz aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, the destroyers USS Decatur, USS Gridley, and USS Howard, the frigate USS Thach, and other supporting vessels, not to mention the aircraft on top of the carrier, to assist in transporting cargo, aerial damage assessment, search-and-rescue, production and delivery of potable water, medical assistance, and machinery repair," Ms Arroyo said. "That is what a good friend and ally does."

Ms Arroyo told reporters earlier that the US vessels would be around for as long as they were needed.

Opposition Sen. Rodolfo Biazon had questioned the deployment of an aircraft carrier to help typhoon victims.

"An aircraft carrier is not designed for salvage. The USS Ronald Reagan is a strategic and combat vessel whose main assets are aircraft, F-18s. What will the F-18s do for the recovery [efforts]?" Biazon had asked.

Suspicions

Leftist groups in the Philippines were suspicious about the decision to send the battleship group to the typhoon-battered country.

They claimed it was meant to show military powers in Asia, like China and North Korea, that the United States was capable of rapidly deploying its military forces in the Asian region at any given time to counter any threat to US military supremacy.

"How sure is Malacañang that there will be no nuclear weapons inside Ronald Reagan?" Fernando Hicap of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya asked.

The Philippine Constitution bars the presence of nuclear weapons in the country. It makes no explicit statement about nuclear-powered vessels.

The US Embassy has said that the carrier group will support rescue, recovery, relief efforts being carried out by Philippine authorities in the wake of the typhoon.
Ms Arroyo's 10-day US visit ends on Saturday. She is expected to return to Manila on June 30.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said that Ms Arroyo would fly to typhoon-ravaged Iloilo a day after her arrival to assess the disaster situation.