China has offered to provide US$14 million of small arms and fast boats to the Philippines for free, aiding Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and terrorism, Philippine Minister of Defense Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday.
The offer was made by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua (趙鑑華) at a meeting with Duterte late on Monday night at the presidential palace, Lorenzana said, adding that Beijing has also made available a US$500 million long-term loan for other equipment.
“China has given us a list of military equipment and we will go through it to find out what we really need,” Lorenzana told reporters after giving out Christmas gifts to wounded soldiers at an army hospital in Manila.
Photo: AFP
“We might get some small arms, fast boats and night-vision goggles because [US]$14.4 million is not that much. We will finalize the deal before the end of the year and a technical working team will soon go there to look at the equipment,” he said.
Lorenzana said Manila hopes to get the Chinese armaments by the second quarter next year.
“The Chinese ambassador last night told the president: ‘I know your problem with drugs so we would like to help you,’” he said.
Just six months ago, Manila and Beijing’s relations were frosty after the Philippines filed an arbitration case in The Hague questioning China’s extensive “nine-dash line” claims in the South China Sea.
However, Duterte, who came to power on July 1, reversed the nation’s foreign policy, distancing it from Washington and pivoting to Beijing, winning about US$24 billion in trade and investment pledges after an October visit to China.
China’s arms offer came after a US senator has said he would block the sale of 26,000 M4 rifles to the Philippine police due to human rights concerns.
Early this month, executives from Chinese arms maker China North Industries Corp (北方工業) also met with Duterte.
Washington has been providing second-hand weapon systems to the Philippines for nearly two decades since the return of US forces for training and exercises.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS