‘We can’t interfere’— defense chief
By Frances Mangosing
The Philippine government remains in talks with Malaysia despite skirmishes in Sabah over the weekend, but claimed they are not allowed to interfere.
The Philippine government remains in talks with Malaysia despite skirmishes in Sabah over the weekend, but claimed they are not allowed to interfere.
What really happened? President Benigno Aquino III on Friday ordered an investigation to determine what really happened in Sabah because of conflicting reports from the Malaysian authorities and the followers of the sultan of Sulu.
The Philippine’s defense chief says the government has signed separate contracts worth 163 billion pesos (about $39 million) with Italian and South Korean companies to supply helicopters and trucks as part of efforts to modernize its poorly equipped military.
The recent “2 + 2 meeting” between the United States (US) and Philippines was “fruitful and productive,” said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
The Philippines said Monday it would officially take its concerns over an increasingly tense territorial dispute with China to the United States, its key military ally.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Wednesday called on Filipinos to support the Philipines’ stand on Panatag or the Scarborough Shoal, the disputed waters between China and Philippines.
China should impose “sanctions” against the Philippines after the latter offered to allow more US troops on its soil, state media said on Sunday, amid growing tensions over disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
The presence of additional US forces in the Philippines will not fuel tensions with China, the Department of National Defense said Friday.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday said the Philippines would accept an increased United States military presence in the country 20 years after kicking out the last US military base from its territory, but stressed that this would be in accordance with Philippine law which bans the basing of foreign troops.
