'GRAVE DANGER' | Invest in AFP to beef up territorial defense, Magdalo solon urges

From InterAksyon (Aug 29): 'GRAVE DANGER' | Invest in AFP to beef up territorial defense, Magdalo solon urges



A slide from a presentation by Magdalo party-list Rep. Ashley Acedillo showing the transformation of a Chinese structure on the disputed Mischief Reef in the West Philippine Sea from February 1995 to April this year

A soldier turned lawmaker has urged the government to pour more funds into beefing up the military’s territorial defense capability as he warned that the country is in “grave danger” of losing out to rival claimants in the West Philippine Sea.

"With an Air Force that cannot protect our air space and a Navy that cannot protect our maritime interest, claimant countries have accelerated their creeping occupation of our islands," Magdalo party-list Representative Ashley Acedillo said.

Acedillo was one of the junior military officers who mounted the short-lived Oakwood mutiny against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July 2003.

The lawmaker suggested that unreleased or unexpended funds from the military’s budget this year be added to its proposed 2015 budget to beef up appropriations for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.

Of the P24 billion programmed for the modernization program this year, only P10 billion has been released to the AFP, he said.

"We recommend that the P14 billion balance be added to the 2015 appropriation," Acedillo said in a privilege speech at the House of Representatives.

He acknowledged that the equipment the military needs is “expensive, but it has been said that there is no such thing as a price tag for sovereignty."

For next year, the Department of National Defense, which includes the AFP, is seeking a budget of P144. This includes the P10 billion for modernization.

Republic Act 7898 or the AFP Modernization Act was enacted into law in 1995 to develop the military’s capability for territorial defense.

But Acedillo said that, of the P331 billion originally allocated for the 15-year program, from 1996 to 2011, the AFP has received only P33 billion.

"The allotment was hardly felt by the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force," he said.

The Aquino administration has extended the program for another 15 years and approved 24 projects worth P85.2 billion.

Two of the projects have been contracted out with the 22 are mostly still waiting for funds, Acedillo pointed out.

The former soldier worried particularly about incursions by China into the West Philippine Sea, where it has also built several fortifications.



Chinese structures in the West Philippines Sea (courtesy of Rep. Ashley Acedill)

The Philippines, he said, maintains “structures and personnel in seven islands and two shoals."

Of the other claimants, Vietnam occupies 21 territories, Malaysia, three, and Taiwan, one.

"Needless to say, China claims the entire South China Sea, but occupies seven features in our Kalayaan Island Group. Take note that out of the 97 features, only 41 are occupied, and there are 56 more that are unoccupied," Acedillo said.



Map showing the location of areas occupied by the various claimants in the West Philippine Sea (courtesy of Rep. Ashley Acedillo)

"Ang nakakalungkot po dito ay ang Pilipinas hindi nag-develop ng kahit alinman sa mga islang hawak nito. Ito raw ay alinsunod sa Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea na pinirmahan ng buong ASEAN at ng China nu’ng 2002 (What is sad is that the Philippines has not developed any of the islands it occupies. This is supposed to be in accordance with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China in 2002)," he said.



Philippine outposts and occupied islets (courtest of Rep. Ashley Acedillo)

In the face of the China threat, he said, Philippine air defense "is practically zero."  

The AFP, he pointed out, only has one operating radar and no height finder detection.  

It has three S-211 jet trainer aircraft, which are subsonic and not equipped with air-to-air missiles, and no match for fighter interceptors.

"With this token capability, our airspace is open to intrusions. We cannot enforce our PADIZ (Philippine Air Defense Identification Zone).  We cannot patrol out territorial waters, and our Exclusive Economic Zones.  We cannot protect our territories, much less deter intrusions," he said. 
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/94290/grave-danger--invest-in-afp-to-beef-up-territorial-defense-magdalo-solon-urges