Why we need to re-arm our Air Force and Navy

Another OV-10 Bronco crash-landed while on a military exercise in Clark Field, Pampanga, which was the subject of last Wednesday’s Philippine STAR editorial entitled, "Waiting for an upgrade." I don’t know how many editorials, not only from this newspaper, but from others as well that should be printed before our government realizes that we have become the laughingstock of the ASEAN as far as the Philippine Air Force (PAF) is concerned. Whenever we talk about our Air Force, wise guys immediately say, "Our Air Force is all air!" It may be funny, but believe me it ain’t funny!

But is it an upgrade that the PAF needs or do we really need a new fleet? I dare say that it is time to get serious about the lack of airplanes and yes, while we’re at it... we might as well include our need for naval vessels in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Perhaps we have focused too much on how to get or acquire new Air Force or Navy equipment and where to find the money to purchase them. But no one and let me repeat that, no one from the Arroyo administration ever thought of cashing in on the strategic importance of the Philippines. They just don’t know how important we are!

All one needs to do is look at the map of Asia and you will find that the islands at the tip of Luzon are so close to Taiwan, while Borneo can be seen already from our southernmost island of Sibutu. If you looked at the huge expanse of the Philippine archipelago, planes flying from the east of the Philippines could easily fly through our airspace with impunity... without even the AFP knowing about those aircraft intrusions on our airspace, since we no longer have fighter jets to stop these unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

If you remembered your history, Japan attacked the Philippines during World War II so it could become a major part of the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." Why? Because the Philippine archipelago was right in the middle of Asia... a strategic stumbling block to Japan’s imperialist plans. This is why at the height of the campaign to oust the US bases, I really wanted to debate with those so-called nationalist Filipinos who insisted that if the US bases were not in the Philippines, Japan would have left us alone. Call it naiveté if you want, but that idea was pure hogwash!

With the Philippines woefully considered a Third World country, we have totally lost that strategic importance. Kim Jong-Il of North Korea exploded a nuclear bomb and suddenly the world’s attention is focused on him! Thank God that we are a working democracy and because we are poor, we cannot even rattle our saber because we only have a scabbard to rattle! I dare say that Congress should give the AFP more than the P49 billion it gave for next year so we can purchase fighter jets and acquire light and fast, but heavily armed naval patrol craft that could threaten the sea lanes of the China Sea... then believe me, our neighbors will begin to notice us!

Today, we need fighters that can be scrambled to intercept all sorts of aircraft violators. But the best fighter craft we have in PAF inventory is the OV-10 Bronco which is actually a ground support aircraft, not an interceptor. Let me say it here that what this country needs are two squadrons of F-16 Falcons or F-18 Hornets in order to boost our defensive capabilities.

Many years ago, when we still had the US Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base, the Philippine government really didn’t need to have an Air Force... after all, we were under the protective umbrella of the US military. But even then we did have a real Air Force, from the old P-51 Mustangs, F-80 Shooting Star, F-86 Sabre jets to the F-5 Freedom Fighters and a squadron of F-8 Chance Vought Crusaders. All that is gone!

A few months ago, the last F-5 was scrapped and that means we no longer have any interceptor jets to challenge anyone who violates our airspace. If we do have some kind of radar capability, I’m sure that the radar operator would be tempted to turn the thing off because anyway, we can’t ever find out who is that green dot crossing Philippine airspace.

As for naval craft, how many times have we written it here that the FBM facility in Balamban can build these PT-Boat styled fast craft. This fighting platform is in the form of a SuperCat catamaran, which can be armed to the teeth according to the particular threat we face. I dare say that we build 50 of these ships and believe me, the Philippine military would be felt by our neighbors as a military to reckon with... not laughed at!

* * *

No doubt, a lot of our readers love to read history, especially when we write about the historic events during World War II. Here’s an e-mail response to our article about the Battle of Sibuyan Sea:

"Dear Bobit, Greetings in peace! I always enjoy your column online. Thank you for your valuable insights, especially regarding Cebu and the Visayas. It is good to learn from your column that the people of Romblon observed this week the 62nd anniversary of the Battle of Sibuyan Sea. History is the bedrock of our identity as a people and I am glad the good people of Romblon have a strong sense of history.

"Let me take this chance to inform you that the commemoration of the Battle of Surigao Strait has been, in fact, a regular part of the calendar of Surigao City every year since Oct. 25, 2001. The observance every Oct. 25, including today, is spearheaded by the outstanding non-governmental organization committed to cultural and historical preservation known as the Surigaonon Heritage Center with Mr. Fernando A. Almeda, Jr. as president-founder and Dr. Irenetta C. Montinola as executive director, in cooperation with the Surigao City government, the Surigao del Norte provincial government and other entities.

"Among the activities are a Philippine Air Force flyby, a socio-civic parade, a cultural program, and sailing into the Surigao Strait to offer flowers to honor the memory of all the fallen men regardless of their race, creed, and nationality. I cherish to this day my precious experience of participating in the Battle of Surigao Strait’s commemorative events held in Surigao City on Oct. 25, 2001. Mabuhay po kayo and more power to you! Very truly yours, Leslie E. Bauzon, Professor, Graduate School of Area Studies and Doctoral Program in International Political Economy, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Japan. [email protected]"

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns in The Freeman can also be accessed through The Philippine STAR website (www.philstar.com). He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable. Bobit’s columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com.