US supplies of weapons, equipment to continue until end of MDT

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 2): US supplies of weapons, equipment to continue until end of MDT
US supplies of weapons and other defense equipment to the Philippines will continue pending the abrogation of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

This was stressed by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo when asked on whether the reported US order halting the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippine National Police (PNP) will have repercussions on the Philippine military.

"The (alleged) US decision to halt sales of 26,000 assault rifles to the PNP will not have an effect on the AFP as our weapons and equipment are sourced through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) which is guarantee under the MDT," Arevalo said in Filipino.

And through FMS, weapons or equipment to be acquired, would not need to pass US Congress approval unlike contracts completed using American suppliers or manufacturers. Sole approval on FMS lies on the US government, the AFP official said.

And until the 1951 MDT is abrogated, the AFP can source its equipment needs through FMS, Arevalo added.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte has already ordered the AFP to look for countries and suppliers capable of providing much needed weapons and equipment to the military provided the latter can meet their requirements.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=936553