The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has expressed its appreciation to the United States, the country's principal ally, in the wake of reports that the American government is allocating USD40 million worth of aid to the Filipino military this 2015.
This was disclosed by AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto
Padilla in a press briefing Friday.
Earlier, US Assistant Defense Secretary David Shear said
that the US has provided USD300 million worth of military aid to the
Philippines since 2001 and would allocate another USD40 million in 2015.
The money will help the AFP in its ongoing modernization
efforts.
Padilla said the USD40 million will be used in various
ongoing capability upgrades of the Philippine military.
However, he declined to comment on where the money will be
spent as this will be discussed by the US
But Padilla said the AFP has a pressing need to acquire more
modern communication equipment and those dealing with maritime domain awareness
so that the country will be able to defend its littoral areas.
Maritime domain awareness refers to the capability to
monitor, detect and deter poachers and other intruders encroaching in
Philippine territorial waters.
Padilla said AFP was allocated USD50 million in 2014 and it
was used to acquire two Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" cargo planes which
are expected to be delivered by 2016.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=728444
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.