Manila acquires 4 military trainer-planes from US

The Philippines took delivery on Thursday of four American-made Cessna planes for training navy pilots to help safeguard Manila’s maritime territories, the government said, amid tensions with Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.

The United States handed over the U.S. $2.2-million package of Cessna 172 Skyhawk planes a day after China agreed to donate millions of dollars in military and other equipment to the Philippines despite a territorial dispute in the sea with Manila, as both superpowers ratchet up competition for allies in the Indo-Pacific.

American embassy officials turned the four aircraft to Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the Naval Air Wing in Sangley Point, south of Manila.

“These air assets will significantly improve the navy’s ability to prepare naval pilots for the crucial task of monitoring and safeguarding our maritime territories and domain,” Lorenzana said.

“As we rejoice over this milestone, we also recognize the productive and enduring relationship between the United States and the Philippines, which is the key to the success of this acquisition program. … We acknowledge our shared commitment to help preserve the peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Manila acquired the aircraft through the U.S. Foreign Military Financing Program, which allows Washington’s allies to buy excess American defense equipment at deep discounts.

The Philippines and the U.S. have long been allies, and are bound by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which calls on them to aid each other in times of war, or external aggression by a third party.

The treaty has never been used or tested, but Washington has assured Manila about its readiness to fulfill its duty in the face of an increasingly assertive China, which has ignored a 2016 international arbitral court ruling that threw out its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.

The U.S. has delivered a number of pieces of equipment to aid the Philippine military’s modernization program, including two second-hand U.S. Coast Guard cutters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and weapons.

Lorenzana said the “ardent support” of Washington in the Philippines’ military modernization program “is very much appreciated and valued” not only by the defense department but by the entire Filipino nation.

“[I] thank you for steadfastly holding the other end of our enduring partnership, that is helping us modernize our armed forces … On our end, rest assured that we are committed more than ever to the alliance,” he said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.