PRESIDENT Duterte has received thousands of rifles and military equipment from Russia in a simple turnover ceremony at the Port of Manila.
The donation consisted of 20 multi-purpose Ural 4320 vehicles, 5,000 units of AK-74M assault rifles, 1 million rounds of 7.62-mm steel-core bullets and 5,000 units of SH-68 steel helmets, transported by a Russian naval flotilla.
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu witnessed the turnover ceremony.
Aside from accepting the military equipment, Duterte also toured the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Pantaleev to check its air-defense system and war room.
Apart from boosting economic ties, Duterte has repeatedly expressed his desire to procure military equipment from Russia, as well as China.
The Philippine strongman visited Russia in May at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders first met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Peru, in November 2016, where Putin extended the invitation to Duterte to visit Moscow.
Deepening ties
In relation, Russia’s donation of equipment to the Philippine military shows the country’s deepening ties with one of the world’s superpowers.
Department of National Defense (DND) Public Affairs Chief Arsenio Andolong emphasized this fact when sought for comments after the recent formal turnover of the Russian donation.
“This gesture by the Russian Federation is a sign of deepening relations that we are developing with Russia, and the equipment donated will be used by various operations [of the] Armed Forces of the Philippines, primarily in counterterrorism efforts,” he added.
The donation also demonstrates Moscow’s intention to expand their network with other nations in the global community, Andolong pointed out.
The initiative is in line with the President’s efforts to broaden the Philippines’s relationship with other nations.
“I think this is the right time to forge [a] cooperation with Russia,” the DND public affairs head added.
Defense minister in Manila
Russian Federation Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev confirmed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s Manila who handed over the Russian military donation to the Philippines.
A detachment of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet, consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev and large tanker Voris Butoma, arrived at the port of Manila on October 20 ahead of Minister Shoigu’s trip.
At a news conference with the Deputy Commander of Flotilla of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the Detachment Flag Officer Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, Khovaev confirmed Duterte’s tour of the destroyer on the departure date of the detachment, which was on October 26.
Citing the need to “intensify” the people-to-people context of Manila and Moscow’s ties, Khovaev asked Filipinos to dismiss misconceptions against Russia, pointing out that the cooperation Moscow is offering Manila has “no hidden agenda” attached to it.
“The Philippines and Russia are on the right track. I am confirming once again that the Russian Federation is open to consider all bilateral cooperation on military and technical field. We fully support your fight against terrorism [and] we are ready to extend help to the country,” the diplomat said.
“If we extend our help to you, we are doing that with sincere wishes; we have no hidden agenda,” he added, then noted that any cooperation on any field “will have no political conditions.”
“That’s a fundamental principle of our military policy [and] our military cooperation with all interested foreign partners. I have already stressed that our country is ready to help the Philippines in your legitimate fight against terrorism. I would like to take this opportunity also to congratulate all of you on the liberation of Marawi,” he added.
Defense pacts
Meanwhile, Russia and the Philippines signed agreements on the sidelines of the fourth Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting—Plus, effectively highlighting their deepening ties.
Lorenzana and Shoygu formalized agreements on military and technical cooperation between the two countries.
The document contained provisions on various areas of the cooperation, such as research, production support, as well as a possible exchange of experts and training of personnel for joint programs.
In addition, the two governments also signed a contract for the Philippines’s procurement of defense articles from Rosoboronexport, a Russian state-owned company. Its Director-General Alexander A. Mikheev and Lorenzana signed the agreement.
With reports from Priam Nepomuceno, Jose Cielito Reganit and Joyce Ann L. Rocamora /PNA
Image credits: Richard Madelo/Presidential Photo