PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday admitted that he cannot afford to lose American support amid the country’s territorial row in the South China Sea but lamented Washington’s lack of support for the country’s defense efforts.
“I never said that they get out of the Philippines, after all we need them in our operations in [the South] China Sea. We don’t have armaments but we are not ready to go to war with China. I don’t want to, because it will just be a massacre,” the President said in his speech at the 10th Infantry Division Headquarters in Mawab, Compostela Valley.
Duterte also lamented America’s opposition to a Philippine plan to buy ammunition for its new fighter jets, saying this rendered them useless.
“It would be good if they gave us missiles but the problem is they won’t give us any. We bought [the F-50s] from Korea, correct–but that is American technology. And you cannot buy it without the consent of America. Even if these will be for display, still we cannot use them without missles,” the President said.
The Philippines recently bought 12 FA-50 Golden Eagle jet fighters from Korean Aerospace Inc. for P18.9 billion. Two of the supersonic FA-50 lead-in fighters were delivered last year.
Duterte said last week that the United States Special Forces based in Mindanao should leave, as the world’s most powerful country has not yet apologized for its wrongdoings against Moros and Filipinos during the American occupation and again brought up the March 1906 Bud Dajo massacre, where hundreds of Moros, including women and children, were killed by US forces in Sulu.
In various speeches, Duterte, a Moro himself, said that the younger generations of Moros, referring to the Abu Sayyaf, had referred to Americans as enemies, prompting him to issue a statement that they should leave Mindanao to prevent further damage between warring groups in Mindanao.
Despite what is seen as his anti-American rhetoric, Duterte had earlier insisted that he will not abrogate any treaty that the country signed with the Americans even as the country tries to chart its own “independent foreign policy.”
Duterte scored the Americans for looking down on Filipinos.
“I really do not know what’s wrong with them. They really regard us very poorly,” he said in Filipino.
In the same speech, the President said that the country will also be procuring anti-terrorism weapons from Israel, shortly after he announced his intention to buy equipment from China and Russia.
“There are many countries who talked to us on our needs for anti-terrorism equipment, including China and Israel. But there will be one or two sources for our anti-terrorism equipment,” he said.
“There are two countries where we are safe. Our allies,” he added, referring to the two countries.
Duterte added: “I decide to arm you all with Glock caliber 45. As long as Israel can produce it, I will buy these for you.”
The President said that he wanted to buy arms from America’s rivals–Russia and China to combat terrorism, but vowed not to cut ties with the country’s strategic allies, the United States, Australia, Japan and Vietnam.
Under the proposed 2017 budget, the Philippine National Police budget of P110.4 billion is 24.6 percent higher than the current appropriation.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines allocation will go up 15 percent, from the current P111 billion to P130 billion.
Malacañang seeks to allocate P25 billion to finance the revised AFP Modernization Program to give the military with modern weaponry and equipment.
