Saturday, November 10, 2012

Military deals top Ph-Canada memo

From the Manila Standard Today (Nov 11): Military deals top Ph-Canada memo

The Philippines and Canada signed on Saturday a memorandum covering security, investment and trade agreements, including the procurement of defense and military equipment from Canada’s $12.6 billion (US$12.6 billion) defense industry. The agreement was signed during the bilateral meeting between President Aquino and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who arrived in the country Friday night for a three-day visit. The President did not specify what equipment would be acquired or how much they would cost, but he told journalists in a briefing that the country only had two operational transport plans and 132 World War II-vintage sea vessels. “The fundamental issue is that we have a lot of outdated equipment,” Mr. Aquino said, noting that the country’s 132 sea vessels need to patrol 36,000 kilometers of coastline, excluding the area covered by the 200-mile economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. “There are legitimate needs [for us] to be able to defend our territory and our sovereignty,” the Chief Executive added. The Philippines recently acquired a Hamilton-class cutter from the United States Coast Guard and another one is set to be delivered this year. The government also announced it would buy five patrol boats from France for around $116 million....

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/11/11/military-deals-top-ph-canada-memo/

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