by William B. Depasupil, Manila Times - THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has shelved its plan to acquire fighter jets from Taiwan to replace its decommissioned F-5s fighter planes in adherence to the country’s One-China policy, it was learned on Friday.
At the same time, the military said that it was unfazed by Beijing’s move to deploy its aircraft carrier to Hainan, near the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), where the disputed Spratly Islands are located.
“The F5s were decommissioned in 2005 due to age and supportability issues,” Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesman and Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said.
“The [acquisition of Taiwanese] F-5s didn’t materialize due to our One-China policy,” he added.
According to this policy, there is only one China—the mainland—and countries that adopt it are strongly dissuaded from recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation.
Those who intend to establish diplomatic relations with Taipei will have to break relations with Beijing or vice versa.
Okol said that the entire F-5 fleet was grounded in May 2001 after one of its jets crashed in Pampanga province during joint military exercises with the US military.
The fleet was decommissioned in 2005 because the aircraft were too old and too expensive to maintain, he added.
Despite the plan’s shelving, the AFP leadership would still look for fighter jets under its modernization program, according to the Air Force spokesman.
“Yes, there are plans [to acquire new fighter jets, as well as] directions to resurge and acquire radars, maritime surveillance aircraft and fighter jets to protect our territorial integrity,” Okol said.
Records showed that the Philippines was the first Southeast Asian country to have supersonic fighter aircraft when it acquired 23 brand-new F-5 jets in 1965 from the US under a bilateral assistance pact.
These jets, also called “Freedom Fighters,” had been used extensively to patrol the Spratlys.
Also on Friday, Armed Forces spokesman and Commodore Juan Miguel Rodriguez said that China’s move to deploy its aircraft carrier in Hainan—seen by some as a show of force—should not be a “cause for alarm” because it was well-known that Beijing acquired the carrier from Russia.
The “Varyag” was acquired by a Hong Kong company for $20 million for conversion into a floating hotel and casino, but the Chinese government announced that it would remodel the carrier for military use.
China has also announced that it was building two similar vessels.
