From Malay Business Insight (Nov 4): DFA: No official word on rifle deal
FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. yesterday said the government has yet to receive official communication from the United States on the reported decision of the State Department to stop the sale of 26,000 M4 assault rifles to the Philippine National Police.
He said he thought the report was erroneous because no official communication has been sent to the DFA.
The US Embassy in Manila also declined to comment.
"We are restricted under Federal regulations from commenting on the status of commercial export license approvals of proposed commercial defense sales,” said press attaché Molly Koscina.
The cancellation was reported by Reuters in article released Tuesday. The article also said US State Department officials did not comment on its report that quoted aides of Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the US Senate foreign relations committee, as saying the US State Department halted the planned sale of some 26,000 assault rifles to the PNP after the senator said he would oppose it. Cardin was reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines, the Reuters report said.
On Wednesday, the PNP said there has been no cancellation, based on a letter sent by Global Defense Sales, a division of firearms maker Sig Sauer in the US, to Intrade Asia Pacific Corporation, the representative of Sig Sauer in the Philippines.
PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said the letter did not say anything about the deal being cancelled.
President Duterte and other officials have downplayed the reported cancellation and said the Philippines can source firearms elsewhere, including China and Russia.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/dfa-no-official-word-rifle-deal
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