New Philippines military chief sees no ‘shooting war’ in South China Sea despite disputes
- Lieutenant General Noel Clement says the military supports diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions between China and the Philippines in the disputed waterway
- He also says Manila is not against purchasing weapons from Beijing, but has not yet decided what to buy
“I don’t think it’s going to the point that there is going to be an actual conflict, meaning a shooting war. I think there are enough mechanisms in place to prevent this from happening,” Lieutenant General Noel Clement said in a briefing with foreign correspondents on Thursday.
The new chief of staff also denied that the military was against purchasing weapons from China, amid tensions between the two nations over the contested South China Sea. “We have not determined what type of equipment we actually want to buy from them,” he told This Week in Asia.
Asked why this was taking so long as China’s weapons offer came in 2016, he replied that China was not the only country the Armed Forces could buy weapons from. “We have to determine which particular equipment – whether this is from China or whatever other countries that are offering the same type of equipment – would be suitable to the requirements of the Armed Forces,” Clement said.
“So, it’s not a matter of us preventing the procurement from China but rather … what our technical working group would recommend to be part of our modernisation programme.”
In contrast, the Philippines – which has a defence treaty with the US – recently signed a deal with Washington for a new Gulfstream G280 jet, estimated by some quarters to cost 2 billion pesos (US$38 million), to serve as the official presidential plane. Delivery is expected by next year.
Clement justified the purchase, saying it was part of the allotment for the Philippine Air Force in the AFP’s modernisation programme, and would be used to transport the commander-in-chief.