[By Guancha Observer, Shanmao]

Despite the U.S. pushing for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, the Philippine side has not yet shown sufficient interest. According to "Defense News," Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro, who attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, stated during a break at the meeting that the Philippines had not received an official quotation for purchasing fourth-generation fighter jets. He also added that even if they did receive one, the Ministry of National Defense was uncertain whether to procure the relevant aircraft, and there were currently no "on-the-table" matters to consider.

(File photo) In January 2019, U.S. Air Force F-16C fighters arrived at the Basa Air Base in the Philippines to prepare for joint training with the Philippine Air Force.

Teodoro said that this arms sale is still in the "media hype" stage, but he did not explain the recent official U.S. State Department announcement approving the sale of aircraft to the Philippines. He further stated that the Philippines has not yet decided when to purchase multirole fighters or which model of fighter jet to buy.

In 2012, the Philippine Air Force purchased 12 FA-50 fighter trainer aircraft from South Korea, and as of March this year, 11 have been delivered, which are also the only jet combat aircraft currently in service with the Philippine Air Force. In 2005, the last F-5 aircraft retired, so during these 12 years, the Philippine Air Force had no available jet tactical aircraft at all.

After all F-5 aircraft retired in 2005, the Philippine Air Force had no jet fighters for a considerable period, with only a few jet trainers remaining.

In 2017, South Korea delivered the first FA-50PH light fighter to the Philippines.

As early as the early 2010s, the Philippines had considered acquiring second-hand U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. Over the following decade, the U.S. side began to promote sales to the Philippines, but there was no substantial progress for a long time. In April this year, the U.S. State Department approved a $5.6 billion package arms sale plan to the Philippines, including 20 F-16 fighter jets, missiles, bombs, and other ammunition. However, according to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Philippines' annual defense expenditure is about $6 billion, accounting for approximately 1.6% of its gross domestic product (GDP), so this arms sale undoubtedly will take up the majority of the Philippines' defense budget.

In March this year, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the Philippines to strengthen the alliance between the two countries to "better compete with China." During the Shangri-La Dialogue last week, the two met again in Singapore, and Hegseth vigorously promoted the "imminent military threat" from China during the meeting and urged allies to increase their defense spending.

Although some Philippine officials see the approval of the sale of fighter jets as a sign of the U.S.'s "long-term strategic commitment" and also indicates that the U.S. trusts the Philippines' ability to effectively use advanced equipment, others questioned how the Philippines could afford such a large-scale arms purchase without substantive assistance from the U.S. Although the U.S. provided about $500 million in long-term security assistance to the Philippines last year, subsequent funds require approval from the U.S. Congress to continue. During the Biden administration, the U.S. and the Philippines had already reached a "planning roadmap" for modernizing the Philippine Armed Forces in the coming years. At that time, the main focus of this roadmap was on coastal defense weapons and system construction to enhance the Philippines' "situation awareness" along the coast. In this plan, advanced fighter jets were not a priority item.

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511659662123598388/

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