Beijing has proposed possible war games with Manila amid continued Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea.
“They offered us that prospect but we’ll have to study it further,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said.
“They said they submitted some white papers so we’ll have to study it first,” Brawner added.
The military chief cited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s policy statement that when it comes to foreign policy, the Philippines is “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian urged Manila to “resist external interference” in addressing matters concerning the Indo-Pacific region, citing the need to maintain “good neighborliness.”
Huang made the statement during the 96th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Wednesday which was attended by Brawner.
According to Huang, countries in the region “must keep abreast with the changing times” and “avoid Cold-War mentality and ‘bloc’ confrontation.”
He underscored the need to “resist external interference and jointly safeguard the regional peace dividend.”
“China is willing to work with the Philippines to adhere to independence and good neighborliness, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, properly manage differences through consultation and dialogue, and ensure China-Philippines relations remain healthy and move steadily into the future, so as to write a new chapter of friendship and cooperation between the two countries,” Huang said.
Huang said that Mr. Marcos and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to handle “maritime issues through friendly consultations.”
“As long as the consensus between our top leaders is implemented in real earnest, we will be able to see new progress in the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, and contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Huang said.
China has consistently rejected an international arbitral ruling invalidating its nine-dash-line claim over the entire South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Brawner said the AFP is looking to acquire multi-role fighters, additional naval assets, and shore-based deterrents for Horizon 3 of its ongoing modernization program.
“For the 3rd Horizon of the (AFP) modernization program we are looking at acquiring multi-role fighter aircraft, naval assets, command and control or C-2 systems, shore-based deterrent capabilities, submarines, and the like,” he said during a post-State of the Nation Address briefing.
“But one thing that we would like to really develop in the next (few) years is the capability for cyber warfare and this is one capability where we could excel in the AFP and we could be at par with even the modern countries,” he added.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said the government is continuing to build the “strong fundamentals of a credible defense posture” to preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“That being said, the President also instructed us to look for non-traditional partners in alliances for upgrading our defensive capabilities and our capabilities to predict and analyze trends in order to prepare for any eventuality which may befall our country and need the use of DND resources in the future,” Teodoro said.