Covid spending imperils 3 major military modernization projects

THREE big projects lined up under the military’s ongoing modernization program are at risk of being scrapped altogether, at least at the moment, due to budgetary constraints brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has proved to be such a huge financial drain for the government.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, however, said he hopes that the contracts for the acquisition of two South Korean-made corvettes and six Australian-made offshore patrol vessels (OPV) for the Navy and multi-role fighter jets for the Air Force could still be signed.

However, the defense chief admitted that the signing of the contracts hinges on the availability of money, which as it appears, may not be available too soon as the national government has focused its resources in battling the spread of the contagion.

“It is being delayed a little bit because the money was not allocated and was used in Covid, but the big contracts that we should have been signing are on the two Corvettes, six OPVS and multi-role fighters,” Lorenzana said at a virtual briefing on Thursday.

The defense chief, currently in isolation, came from the United States where he talked with top US officials, including his American counterpart Lloyd Austin III, and other senior defense and military officials.

“These are the big ticket items that are waiting to have money,” Lorenzana said.

The planned procurement of two brand-new corvettes, six OPVS and multi-role jets, either sourced out from the US or Sweden, are the biggest modernization projects under the administration of President Duterte.

If the government could not find money until the campaign period starts or until the start of the election ban, then it means the projects, if still pursued, would have to be signed by the next administration.

Meanwhile, Lorenzana said that just like the US, the country will not observe the maritime ID that China imposes in the South China Sea, especially in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), because first and foremost, the WPS forms part of the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Observing China’s maritime identification system for vessels passing through the islands that Beijing reclaimed, according to the defense secretary, will legitimize the Chinese government’s claims.

He said this “dirty tactics” of China in pursuing its claims is not new in the WPS as he cited the case of Mischief Reef where China had pleaded to the Philippines before to allow Chinese fishermen to seek shelter in that reef, which later turned into an occupation.

“After that, they reclaimed the whole Mischief Reef. Now, it is an island. So we already know that tactic of China. Little by little, they will let anyone feel that they are in control, but we will not honor those laws because they do not apply to our maritime domain, which is the West Philippine Sea,” Lorenzana said.

The defense secretary said he discussed with US officials about the system that China wanted to impose in the South China Sea and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which covers the prepositioning of American troops and equipment in the country.

The EDCA, signed during the previous administration, allows the US to construct facilities within selected camps of the Philippine military to house its forces and equipment, which was seen as part of the US pivot to the region.

Lorenzana said that during his talks with US officials, the resumption of America’s building of facilities inside camps was also tackled.

He said like the Mutual Defense Treaty, there might also be a need to review the EDCA given that American forces in the country could also be targets in case the US goes into war with another country.