Manila: The United States has handed over more than 300 assault rifles and millions of dollars of military equipment to the Philippines as part of its commitment to bolster Manila’s capability in its fight against terrorism.
Philippine Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Salamat received the armaments in a simple ceremony at the PMC headquarters in Taguig City on Monday.
According to a press statement issued by the US Embassy, the new equipment includes 300 M4 carbines, 200 Glock 21 pistols, four M134D Gatling-style machine guns, and 100 M203 grenade launchers.
The Joint United States Military Assistance Group (Jusmag) earlier on May 30 delivered 25 Combat Rubber Raiding Craft with outboard motors to PMC Headquarters.
The PMC’s Inshore Boat Battalion and Marine Special Operations Group have already used US Counterterrorism Train and Equip gear in ongoing combat operations in the southern Philippines.
The new equipment arrived at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga last May, but the official handover was made on Monday by Jusmag officials.
Manila had been receiving assistance from the US on counter terrorism since 1999 when both countries signed the Visiting Forces Agreement, a pact that allows American soldiers to train alongside their Filipino counterparts in the Philippines.
A US Embassy statement said the equipment aims to “enhance the PMC’s counter-terrorism capabilities and help protect Philippine Marines actively engaged in counterterrorism operations in Mindanao”.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had been engaging militants from the Maute for nearly two weeks in Marawi City, Central Mindanao.
Brand new
The Maute claim they are fighting to establish a “caliphate” similar to that of the Middle East-based Daesh.
While the country has been battling the Abu Sayyaf, another militant group, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as well as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for decades, the conflict with the Maute was the first time Filipino soldiers confronted a radical force using conventional strategy of taking territory and holding it for an extended period.
The US Embassy said since 2007, Jusmag have delivered and programmed P7.3 billion (Dh538.54 million) of military equipment to the Philippine Marine Corps and other branches of the AFP to enhance counterterrorism capabilities.
In addition, the AFP has procured small-arms weapons, water craft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and personal protective equipment as part of the US government’s Foreign Military Sales system and other programmes.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte said his government would no longer accept hand-me-down equipment from other countries, including the United States.
“Everything has to be brand new,” he told soldiers during a recent speech at a military camp in Zamboanga Sibugay.
The Philippines, during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, had accepted used military equipment from the United States that includes three frigates and more than a 100 armoured personnel carriers.
The arms transfers are part of the US Excess Defence Articles programme.
