Wednesday, December 08, 2010

China-Philippines to ink first arms deal

BBC said that the chief of the Philippine armed forces is currently in Beijing to sign a "very substantial" agreement with China.
The new agreement consists of supply of military hardware coming from emerging power China.
A known American ally, Philippine military spokesman denied a shift of alliance to China.
The move is important to militarily-weak Philippines as it fights long-term insurgents like Communists and Islamic rebels, and China's expanding reach in the region, according to Philippine military spokesman.
The country has one of the weakest military in the East Asian region.
The new arms deal is needed urgently because the country's current stocks consist of second-hand aircraft, boats and assault rifles from the United States.
The US expressed concern over the deal and warned of the dangers of China's expanding military power. It will be recalled that the US forces are in the Philippines to train the local military.
The deal also emphasizes a change in Beijing's stance to the communist insurgency in the Philippines.
China supported the communist New People's Army when it was set up way back in 1969.
With the new Chinese-made firearms, Filipino soldiers could be using the arms against them.
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