Army eyes choppers from Japan

Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said they were interested in acquiring helicopters from Japan for the Army Aviation Regiment, which now has 60 pilots. He said he will fly to Japan toward the end of July to sign the terms of reference for the Army’s cooperation activities with Japan. Last month, the Philippine Air Force and Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force held joint drills at Clark Air Base to enhance interoperability in humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The foreign and defense ministers of the Philippines and Japan met in April to expand defense cooperation amid concerns over the situations in the East and South China Seas and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. —FRANCES MANGOSING

gsg