DND welcomes US radar in PH

MANILA, Philippines—A Department of National Defense (DND) official on Friday welcomed with caution the reported plan of the United States to put up an advanced radar system in the Philippines that could detect ballistic missiles launched from China.

DND spokesperson Peter Galvez said the department has yet to receive any formal communication from the Americans about the plan to put up a land-based X-Band radar system in the Philippines, which was reported in the Wall Street Journal.

“This particular system is a very good capability to have [but] pending formal communications regarding the plan, we cannot issue a statement on this matter,” Galvez said.

“We’ll look into it. They will help in our maritime domain awareness. We’ll check if this is the system for it,” he added.

No info on US plan

However, Galvez said that his office had yet to receive information about the American plan, which is part of US government efforts to improve its missile defense systems in the region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has also not been formally approached on the US plan, according to spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US was planning to enhance its missile defense capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region after the Chinese developed ballistic missiles that could threa-ten American aircraft carriers.

It added that while the US already had one X-Band radar system in Japan, it was planning to set up another one in that country and was looking at the Philippines as another possible site.

However, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) denounced the American plan, saying it would drag the country “into armed conflicts and war posturing that have nothing to do with Philippine interests.”

Maritime surveillance

It noted that the United States had also announced that it was planning to install a land-based radar in the country to help in the so-called “maritime surveillance” in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.

“The US missile defense system is definitely not in accord with Philippine interests.

The missile system is intended primarily to project US military power and contain and encircle countries like China and North Korea,” Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes Jr. said in a statement.

“The United States wants to remain the top military power in the region even if they are not part of this region. The United States wants us to believe that China and North Korea pose a military threat to countries like the Philippines. However, we don’t see any imminent missile threat from these countries. North Korea’s last rocket launch was even seen as a failure,” he added.

Reyes said the Americans were “exaggerating the threats from China and North Korea so that the United States can justify its military build-up in the region.” With a report from Tarra Quismundo