Golez supports major AFP upgrade

Philippines: FM In Washington, Seeks New Arms Arrangements

June 23, 2011
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario is in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, AFP reported June 23. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies ahead of his meeting with Clinton, del Rosaria said the Philippines wants to move away from buying secondhand U.S. military hardware, AFP reported. The Philippines hopes the United States would be amenable to operational leases that would allow its armed forces to assess and utilize military hardware quickly, del Rosaria said. Del Rosaria also said that his country would be a more powerful ally to the United States if it were able to defend itself to the greatest extent possible.

I fully support the above proposal. I understand there are many good excess defense articles available in the US inventory that can be made quickly serviceable for deployment within one year or less. For the Philippine Navy, the frontline major service in the West Philippine Sea, there are good Perry class FFGs (fast frigates with guided missiles). These 4,000-ton, 29-knot frigates were mothballed in 2003, some built in the 90s, with good capability against aircraft and ships. We can arrange the lease or even lend lease of two to four frigates. With an operational range of around 4,000 miles, these frigates are ideal for patrolling and protecting our economic assets within our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from the Batanes area to the Celebes, and of course the West Philippine Sea to the west and the Philippine Sea to the east.

Additionally, I propose that the AFP should modernize with the acquisition of short and medium range surface to air and surface-to-surface missiles. Very ideal are Tomahawk missiles, to protect the Kalayaan Island Group and our assets within our EEZ. A Tomahawk cruise missile, costing only around US $600-700,000 can be a potent threat to and restrict the movement of a much more expensive $100 Million frigate or destroyer attempting to intrude into our exclusive economic zone or harass our economic assets in the area.

On the MDT, there is no doubt that the term "Pacific" as used in the MDT includes the South China Sea or the whole of the China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. The China Sea is but one of the many seas within the Pacific. Others are Taiwan Straits, Yellow Sea, Philippine Sea, Celebes Sea, etc. The Pacific war accounts includes the sinking of the Japanese Cruiser Atago in the Palawan Passage which is within the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. Japanese General Homma invaded from the China Sea landing in Lingayen.

And the biggest proof is the emblem of the U.S. Pacific Command which shows its jurisdiction from the US West Coast to the Indian Ocean with the Philippines almost dead center. So any attack on a Philippine Navy ship within the West Philippine Sea should be covered by the MDT.





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