MANILA: The Philippines wants to upgrade its military with mid-range missiles and advanced fighter jets, two senior security officials said on Thursday, spending at least $33 billion as it modernizes its defense in the face of growing regional tensions.
The military wants to acquire more cutting-edge weaponry, armed forces chief Romeo Brawner told reporters, hours after Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro announced the Philippines was reviewing offers to buy more weapons.
“We are wanting to get more of the latest weapons systems. That includes the mid-range capability,” Brawner told a joint media conference with US Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo in the northern city of Baguio.
Both the Philippines and ally the United States are preparing for what could be the largest joint military exercises next year, Paparo said, as security engagements between the two nations have increased to counter what they perceive as China’s growing assertiveness.
In April, the United States deployed its intermediate range missile system in the northern Philippines during military drills, angering China which said its presence “brought huge risks of war into the region.”
The missile, which remains in the Philippines, was not fired during the exercises, but was shipped to test the feasibility of transporting the 40-ton weapon system by air.
The Philippines has been embroiled in frequent run-ins at sea and on air with China in the South China Sea.
It plans to spend at least 1.894 trillion pesos ($33.74 billion) to modernize and boost its military’s external defense capabilities, which could include buying the 40 jets, Teodoro earlier said during a congressional hearing on his department’s budget.
He declined to the name the countries that had submitted tenders or the fighter jet model it plans to acquire, adding: “The bidding is a secret process right now, but we are continuing to review tenders that are acceptable.”
“We are also investing in other deterrent capabilities that are deterrents, not necessarily multi-role fighters,” he said.
To fund the jets which could cost between 300 to 400 billion pesos ($5.3 to $7.1 billion), the government is looking at reasonable financing schemes, including tapping syndicated loans from private lenders, Teodoro added.
Military chief Brawner had previously said the Philippines needed “faster and more lethal” multi-role jet fighters on top of its South Korean FA-50s. Teodoro said the Philippines aims to award tenders “as soon as possible as long as our financial requirements are met.”
Philippines eyes mid-range missiles, 40 fighter jets to modernize military
https://arab.news/pz28k
Philippines eyes mid-range missiles, 40 fighter jets to modernize military
- Bidders must submit a proposed financing package where payment can be spread out – defense chief
- The Philippines is seeking to modernize and beef up its military inventory
India, Arab League target $500bn in trade by 2030
- It was the first such gathering of India–Arab FMs since the forum’s inauguration in 2016
- India and Arab states agree to link their startup ecosystems, cooperate in the space sector
NEW DELHI: India and the Arab League have committed to doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, as their top diplomats met in New Delhi for the India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The foreign ministers’ forum is the highest mechanism guiding India’s partnership with the Arab world. It was established in March 2002, with an agreement to institutionalize dialogue between India and the League of Arab States, a regional bloc of 22 Arab countries from the Middle East and North Africa.
The New Delhi meeting on Saturday was the first gathering in a decade, following the inaugural forum in Bahrain in 2016.
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in his opening remarks that the forum was taking place amid a transformation in the global order.
“Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Asia or the Middle East, where the landscape itself has undergone a dramatic change in the last year,” he said. “This obviously impacts all of us, and India as a proximate region. To a considerable degree, its implications are relevant for India’s relationship with Arab nations as well.”
Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart co-chaired the talks, which aimed at producing a cooperation agenda for 2026-28.
“It currently covers energy, environment, agriculture, tourism, human resource development, culture and education, amongst others,” Jaishankar said.
“India looks forward to more contemporary dimensions of cooperation being included, such as digital, space, start-ups, innovation, etc.”
According to the “executive program” released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the roadmap agreed by India and the League outlined their planned collaboration, which included the target “to double trade between India and LAS to US$500 billion by 2030, from the current trade of US$240 billion.”
Under the roadmap, they also agreed to link their startup ecosystems by facilitating market access, joint projects, and investment opportunities — especially health tech, fintech, agritech, and green technologies — and strengthen cooperation in space with the establishment of an India–Arab Space Cooperation Working Group, of which the first meeting is scheduled for next year.
Over the past few years, there has been a growing momentum in Indo-Arab relations focused on economic, business, trade and investment ties between the regions that have some of the world’s youngest demographics, resulting in a “commonality of circumstances, visions and goals,” according to Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“The focus of the summit meeting was on capitalizing on the economic opportunities … including in the field of energy security, sustainability, renewables, food and water security, environmental security, trade, investments, entrepreneurship, start-ups, technological innovations, educational cooperation, cultural cooperation, youth engagement, etc.,” Quamar told Arab News.
“A number of critical decisions have been taken for furthering future cooperation in this regard. In terms of opportunities, there is immense potential.”
