Duterte shops for military hardware
SEOUL – Before flying back to the Philippines last night after a three-day official visit, President Duterte went window-shopping for helicopters and military equipment that may boost the country’s air defense system.
Duterte toured a facility that showcased Korea’s air assets and military hardware in a bid to see what can be bought to modernize the Philippines’ armed forces.
Along with several top government officials, he considered the possibility of buying some units of Surion helicopter, a twin-engine transport utility
helicopter developed by the Korea Aerospace Industries and the Agency for Defense Development.
Finance Secrtary Carlos Dominguez III said there are also talks on the possibility of a joint venture to manufacture small arms in the Philippines, although he was not privy to details. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte and South Korea President Moon Jae-in tackled the issue of security and defense during their bilateral meetings. South Korea, he added, offered to sell two frigates to help modernize the Philippine Navy.
Duterte earlier said he is looking at Korea as an alternate source of helicopters after he cancelled the plan to procure 16 Bell helicopters from Canada.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and defense officials pushed yesterday for legislation to reduce the country’s dependence on imported ammunition to prevent a repeat of the near shortage of bullets during the Marawi siege last year.
At the Senate hearing, officials said the Government Arsenal (GA) produces only 70 percent of the basic ammunition requirements while the remainder – equivalent to around 20 million rounds annually – are sourced from foreign suppliers.
Defense assistant secretary Manuel Felino Ramos said the Armed Forces nearly ran out of ammunition at the height of the battle to recover Marawi City from Islamic State-linked insurgents last year.
“Once we spend all our ammunition, we will be in quandary where to get what we need if we don’t produce all our ammunition,” Ramos told Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs.
He said it was possible that the host government of a foreign ammunition supplier could withhold deliveries to the country under adverse conditions.