Russia is willing to provide the Philippines with military hardware, including submarines, without political conditions or limitations, Philippine ambassador to Moscow Carlos Sorreta said Wednesday.
“Russia is willing to provide brand-new equipment, customized to the specific needs of the Philippines, at favorable financial terms with reasonable delivery times, full after-sales service, training and without political conditions or limitations,” Sorreta said on his Facebook page.
President Rodrigo Duterte accused the US of selling only hand-me-down weapons that he said endangered the lives of Filipino troops in a speech in Cebu Tuesday night. He cited the crash of three refurbished helicopters that killed Filipino soldiers.
Duterte said he wanted to buy at least two submarines from the US “just to lift the spirit, the soul of Filipino soldiers because we don’t have any submarines.”
He said Thailand had about eight or six submarines, Indonesia about 10 and Malaysia six, “and we are the only ones who have none.”
“Now that I intend to purchase from Russia, here comes a statement from America saying don’t do it,” Duterte said.
“I do not have a quarrel with America, but America seems to be in a hypocritical stage always.”
In a post from the Philtizen Daily News, Sorreta said the Kremlin was willing to provide brand-new equipment that could better fit the Philippine Defense department’s battle plans and tactics.
Sorreta said Russia’s contribution would be preferable to second-hand equipment.
“By procuring new and customized equipment, our armed forces will be able to maximize their use since they can be made to fit into our battle plans and tactics,” Sorreta said.
Sorreta’s statement came as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other defense officials visited Russia to further develop the Philippines’ defense cooperation with Moscow.
Sorreta said Lorenzana and his delegation attended the International Military-Technical Forum of ARMY 2018 and “examined Russian military equipment with the pressing defense needs of the Philippines in mind.”
Lorenzana said the Defense Department will procure equipment that is most advantageous to the Armed Forces of the Philippines through the AFP Modernization Program.
