Philippines interested to purchase military equipment from China including UAVs 11202171

Defense & Security News - Philippines
 
Philippines interested to purchase military equipment from China including UAVs.
The Philippines has submitted to China the list of defense equipment it hopes Beijing can supply through a $14-million grant, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday, February 7, reported Rappler.com on February 7.
     
The Philippines has submitted to China the list of defense equipment it hopes Beijing can supply through a $14-million grant, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday, February 7, reported Rappler.com on February 7. Chinese-made UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) at Zhuhai Air Show (Copyright Army Recognition)
     
Defense Secretary of Philippines also disclosed another additional procurement demand for $500 million worth of weapons from China, including precision-guided munitions, boats and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).

Lorenzana said he submitted the list to Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua "three weeks ago". If the Chinese side approves the funding, a representative of the Philippine government will go to China, according to the report.

"We haven't gone there (to send a representative) because we just gave them the list, so if they can supply the equipment, that's when we will go," said Lorenzana.

Asked whether the wish list includes precision-guided munitions, Lorenzana said, "Yes." He added, "We asked for many things – boats, drones," said the report.

But in a text response to Rappler.com later, Lorenzana said the precision-guided munitions are in a list of equipment to be covered by a $500 million soft loan, not the $14 million grant.

According to the report, he specified that the Philippines is asking for precision-guided munitions, not missiles, which are more "sophisticated." Precision-guided munitions are satellite-guided munitions designed to hit a specific target. Lorenzana said PGMs will "lessen" casualties, compared to the use of unguided bombs, according to the report.