AFP: China training ‘might end’

Amid WPS woes, Brawner says review of officers’ exchange program ongoing

The Armed Forces of the Philippines “might terminate” its military exchange program that sends Filipino military officers to China amid Beijing’s continued incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

“The review is ongoing. We are not yet terminating it,” AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told Manila Standard in an interview.

“We might terminate it depending on the results of the review,” Brawner added.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chairman of the Senate Defense Committee, earlier asked the AFP to submit a report on the military exchange program that is paid for in full by the Chinese government.

Senator Francis Tolentino described the military exchange program as “very alarming” while Senator Raffy Tulfo said it was a “slap in the face of Filipinos” amid China’s aggressive acts, adding that it gave Beijing an opportunity to “infiltrate” the AFP hierarchy.

A well-placed source in the Defense Department said there is a high chance the program will no longer continue.

“The AFP will likely start responding to China that we will no longer be sending our officers the next time there is an opening for training,” the source said.

The source said there is an upcoming training in the last quarter of the year for a one-week exchange, but the AFP will likely not send participants anymore.

Brawner said that on average, less than five military officers are sent every year to Beijing.

For his part, AFP Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said the exchange program gives Filipino military officers an opportunity to learn more about the system of other countries.

“Personally, for me, that is an opportunity to learn what is happening on the other side,” said Carlos, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1989 and completed his General Staff Course at the Naval Command College – People’s Liberation Army-Navy in China in 2008.

“That is my distinct advantage now. I know both the US and Chinese sides… I feel like it’s a good opportunity for us to learn about the other system—how they work, how they think. I don’t feel any ‘utang na loob’ (debt of gratitude) to China just because they sponsored my schooling there. Our work is the national interest of the government and the Philippines,” he added.

Brawner added that no Philippine Military Academy cadets are sent to a military school in China.

“We only send cadets to four countries: the United States, Australia, Japan, and South Korea,” he said.

Defense Senior Undersecretary Irineo Espino earlier told senators that only officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher apply for a yearlong training in China.

The Philippines on Monday summoned Beijing’s envoy to protest the use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

The incident happened Saturday as the Philippine Coast Guard escorted chartered boats carrying food, water, fuel, and other supplies for Filipino soldiers stationed at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea and has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

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