RP 'to purchase fighter squadron'<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): The Philippines is expected to start receiving
\noffers for at least a squadron of fighter aircraft by the middle
\nof the year to launch a US$12.7 billion modernization program,
\nthe country's top military official said.<\/p>\n
Gen. Arnulfo Acedera told AFP that the military should submit
\na list of requirements under the 15-year upgrade by June --
\n"perhaps even earlier than that" -- after which it will
\nimmediately start to entertain proposals by defense contractors.<\/p>\n
The country's most pressing need "is a credible air defense
\nsystem" that would include an efficient radar, at least three
\nsquadrons of multi-role fighters and an appropriate command and
\ncontrol capability, he said.<\/p>\n
However, as only 50 billion pesos ($1.9 billion) would be
\nappropriated in the first five years, the military might have to
\nmake do with just one squadron, military sources said.<\/p>\n
The F-16 and F\/A-18 of the United States, the Mirage of France
\nand Russia's MiG-29 appear to meet the requirements of the Air
\nForce, Acedera confirmed, but dismissed local reports that the
\nchoice had narrowed down to these aircraft.<\/p>\n
Defense department sources here pointed out that the F-16 is
\nnow the aircraft of choice of neighbors Taiwan, Thailand,
\nMalaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, among others.<\/p>\n
The modernization law requires that new imported weapons must
\nbe in use in their country of origin or in two other countries.
\nCongress must also vet large purchases.<\/p>\n
Manila may well take the short-term palliative of acquiring
\nrefurbished F-5 jets, since Acedera said "it takes four years to
\ntake delivery" of new military aircraft.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Senate national defense committee chairman
\nOrlando Mercado said the government must now review this option
\nbecause their "reliability and airworthiness may be doubtful."<\/p>\n
The urgency was driven home earlier this month when an Air
\nForce pilot plowed a riverbank in the northern Philippines with
\nhis F-5 jet, killing himself and a farmer on the ground when he
\nattempted to make a low pass at a military parade.<\/p>\n
The accident left the archipelago with just four of the
\nVietnam-era fighters. The high command had them immediately
\ngrounded, leaving the country with no cover at all.<\/p>\n
Manila did not have to take care of external defense until
\n1992, when Filipino nationalist rhetoric and U.S. budgetary
\nconstraints forced U.S. forces to pull out after nearly a century
\nfrom Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base.<\/p>\n
The immediate Navy requirements are missile-armed corvettes
\nand offshore patrol craft, but military sources say not one
\nmanufacturer now stands out.<\/p>\n
Acedera said the end of the Cold War and the winding down of
\ndomestic insurgences with the signing of a peace treaty with
\nMoslem separatists last year has refocused the military's
\nefforts. He said he expects a dwindling communist insurgency to
\nmake the peace within two years.<\/p>\n
New concerns include international terrorism and regional
\n"flashpoints which have already been identified," he said,
\nreferring to territorial disputes on small islands in the South
\nChina Sea.<\/p>\n
"Obviously, our modernization program would have to be
\ntailored to answer to that scenario."<\/p>\n
He cited the "hegemonic" history of China, which was "a matter
\nof interest for all."<\/p>\n
In 1995, China occupied a Philippine-claimed reef in the
\nSpratlys, an archipelago also claimed in whole or in part by four
\nother neighboring countries. Last year, Philippine naval gunboats
\nskirmished with suspected Chinese vessels off Subic Bay.<\/p>",
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