Sergei Shoigu met
with President of the Republic Rodrigo Duteret as part of his working visit to
the Philippines The Russian Defense Minister handed over to the Philippine
side a batch of military products, including small arms and army trucks
delivered from the Russian Federation.
The transfer ceremony took place in the port of Manila aboard the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev "Pacific Fleet of Russia.
Earlier, on the sidelines of the IV meeting of the defense ministers of the
countries members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
dialogue partners ("SMOA plus") in Clark, the heads of the military
department of the Russian Federation and the Philippines signed an agreement on
military-technical cooperation between the countries. Also, Sergei Shoigu
laid a wreath at the monument to the national hero of the country, Jose
Protasio Risalu. Source: Ministry of Defense of Russia
Philippines, Russia sign two military deals
OCTOBER 25, 2017
MANILA (Reuters) - Thousands of assault rifles and
helmets were among the military gear Russia donated to the Philippines in a bid
to widen its arms market in Southeast Asia at a time when Manila is seeking to
diversify weapons systems, officials said on Wednesday.
Manila received about 5,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 5,000
steel helmets, about a million rounds of ammunition for the rifles and 20 army
trucks in a ceremony attended by President Rodrigo Duterte, who also toured one
of five visiting Russian warships.
The gift came a day after Russia and the Philippines
signed two military pacts, including a sales contract with Rosoboronexport, a
state-owned vendor of Russian defence equipment.
“We are looking at acquiring some equipment for
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, but there are no
specifics yet,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told Reuters. “We are still
discussing.”
Lorenzana said the Rosoboronexport contract was not a
sales deal but signalled the Philippines’ intention to acquire small arms,
vehicles and special equipment for disaster operations.
But the Philippines’ biggest source of arms, the United
States, was not worried at the prospect of equipment donated by its rivals
China and Russia.
“I don’t attach very much significance to it, some trucks
or guns being dropped off to a country that’s fighting terrorists right now,”
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on the plane to Bangkok.
“It’s a sovereign decision by the Philippines,” he added.
“So it’s not a big issue... other nations are coming to their help.”
The United States and China dominate regional arms trade.
Since 2000, the United States has donated close to $1
billion (754.46 million pounds) worth of military equipment to the Philippines,
ranging from surveillance planes, drones and boats to small arms.
China, which promised to donate a third shipment of small
arms after a meeting on Wednesday between Lorenzana and his Chinese
counterpart, General Chang Wanquan, has already given the Philippines about $7
million in small arms.
The deals with the Philippines will allow Russia to
expand its arms market in the region, said another senior Philippine official,
who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media.
The Philippines is now open to buying Russian arms as
Manila cultivates closer ties with Moscow, he added, particularly as the
military looks to diversify its equipment, reining in costs while maintaining
quality.
“Moscow has been offering to sell arms to us since the
mid-1990s and they are willing to barter guns for bananas,” he said, adding
that Russia was selling fighters, helicopters and submarines to the Philippines.
Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez
Source: reuters.com
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