The Philippines engagement in Russia does not stop on its ties,
under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s independent foreign policy it has
expanded in a lot of areas and one evident fact is on the military aspect.
Under the Duterte administration, the Philippines has expressed
its willingness to purchase Russian military hardware – the Mi-171 helicopters.
The said purchase has been considered as a ‘priority’ as Undersecretary
for finance and materiel at the Philippine Department of National Defense
(DND), Raymundo DV Elefante, told the Sputnik, a Russian government-owned news
agency.
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| Russian Mi-171 Medium Helicopter and/or Heavy Helicopter (photo credit to owner) |
Sometime last April the DND
has already made its intention to buy 16 or 17 Russian helicopters.
“It [Mi-171] is a priority; right now we are in the process of
procuring it. It’s in initial stages but hopefully, within this year we will be
having a commitment for that. There is no signing yet but we intend to do it
hopefully within this year,” Elefante said on the sidelines of the ARMY-2019
International Military-Technical Forum held in Moscow.
Maxdefense, made mention of the Russian purchase and it is said to
be a direct order from President Duterte.
According to MaxDefense, Pres. Duterte
made a pre-condition of approving the acquisition of the 16 Sikorsky S-70i
Black Hawk only if the DND and Philippine Air Force (PAF) would buy the Russian
helicopters for the medium helicopter and/or Heavy Helicopter requirements of
the PAF.
The purchase of 16 Black Hawk
helicopters made by United States manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft will replace a
previous deal for 16 Bell 412 helicopters from Canada.
The planned purchase of military equipment from Russia might open
the Philippines being sanctioned by the United States of America because of the law
signed by President Donald Trump in 2017.
The 70-page law, called “Countering America’s Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act”, or CAATSA, imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation, Iran,
North Korea and those who would buy military hardware from them.
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Report from WPS
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