‘Purchase of US jets not aimed vs any country’

MANILA, Philippines —  The possible purchase of 20 F-16 fighter jets from the US is not directed against any country and is just part of the Philippines’ efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities, officials said yesterday.

The US State Department has approved a possible sale of $5.58 billion worth of jets to the Philippines, a deal seen to improve the country’s ability to conduct maritime domain awareness and close air support missions and enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses and aerial interdiction capabilities.

The sale is expected to increase the ability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to protect vital interests and territory and expand interoperability with the US forces, the department added.

The announcement came as tensions grip the West Philippine Sea, the portion of the South China Sea that has been the subject of a longstanding maritime row between the Philippines and China.

“The principle of it, the Americans would give us the materiel for a defensive force, defensive stance. That’s OK because the details will be worked out still. But that is not for any specific target or state. That is for our defensive posture,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a chance interview.

National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya assured China that the possible purchase of jets from the US would not pose a threat to peace in the region.

“We would like to assure the People’s Republic of China that the planned procurement of F-16 fighter jets to the Philippine arsenal does not in any way harm the interest of any third party. It is not intended for any nation. It is merely part of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) modernization program,” Malaya said.

Late last month, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the Philippines should “stop serving as other countries’ mouthpiece” when asked about the scheduled visit of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Manila from March 28 to 29. Guo said any defense cooperation between the Philippines and other countries should not target any third party, harm its interest, threaten regional peace or escalate tensions.

Malaya said the proposed sale is part of the Trump administration’s “ironclad” commitment to the defense treaty between the Philippines and the US, which was reaffirmed during Hegseth’s visit.

“If you will remember, Secretary Hegseth said in a joint statement with (Defense) Secretary (GIlberto) Teodoro, that the United States will deploy additional advanced military capabilities to the Philippines for joint training, enhanced interoperability and defense industrial cooperation,” he said.

“We see this announcement by the US Defense Cooperation Agency as the implementation, the initial implementation of that joint statement between the two defense secretaries.”

Noting that the F-16 is the most advanced fourth generation fighter in the world, Malaya said the air assets would be a significant upgrade to the Philippines’ arsenal if the sale pushes through. He said the defense department has not yet received an official communication from the US government with regard to the proposed sale.

According to the US State Department, the proposed sale of the jets would not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor of the potential deal will be South Carolina-based aerospace firm Lockheed Martin.