Philippines gets U.S. weapons

WASHINGTON HAS provided the Philippines some P48.5 million (about $1 million) worth of weapons and munitions intended to enhance the military’s counterterrorism capabilities and readiness.

A photo released by the U.S. Embassy to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner shows the cache of weapons and munitions the U.S. delivered to the Philippines intended to enhance the military’s counterterrorism capabilities and readiness.

Officials from the Joint United States Military Assistance Group - Philippines (JUSMAG-P) delivered the new weapons and munitions to the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Clark Air Base on July 4.

The delivery, funded by U.S. grant assistance, included fourteen (M2A1) .50 caliber heavy machine guns, seven M240B machine guns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.  

“As the United States and Philippines celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations…we welcome this key equipment transfer, which will support the continued readiness of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said JUSMAG-P Chief and Senior Defense Official to the Philippines Col. Stephen Ma.  

The Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. military assistance in the Indo-Pacific. Since 2015, the U.S. has provided more than P48.6 billion ($1 billion) in security assistance to the Philippines.

Last year, Duterte terminated the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the U.S. after Washington cancelled the visa of former national police chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa. 

Duterte, who considers himself a friend of China, also lambasted the U.S. for interfering with the country’s political affairs and its criticism of the government’s deadly war on drugs which Dela Rosa engineered through the so-called Oplan Tokhang when he was the chief of the Philippine National Police.

The Pentagon said scrapping the VFA was wrong, but according to then President Donald Trump it will save a lot of money for Washington.

When asked whether he would try to persuade Duterte to reconsider his decision to scrap the VFA, Trump said: “Well I never minded that very much, to be honest. We helped the Philippines very much. We helped them defeat ISIS ... I don't really mind if they would like to do that, it will save a lot of money. My views are different from others.” (Mindanao Examiner)

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