AFP modernization

How much would it take to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines so the country can achieve what’s often referred to as a “credible defense posture?”

That would be a staggering P2 trillion pesos, according to news reports. But this total amount would be spread out over a 10-year period.

The military’s updated revised acquisition plan for weapons and equipment called “Re-Horizon 3” was recently approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

It will focus on “an array of capabilities which will range from our domain awareness, our connectivity, our intelligence capabilities or C4iSTAR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, targeting acquisition and reconnaissance) … to our area denial and deterrence capabilities on both the maritime and the aerial domains,” according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

That’s an extensive wish list, to be sure, but not exactly to be purchased all at once.

The revised acquisition plan replaces Horizon 3—the original final stage of the three-phase modernization program that would have started in 2022 and run until 2028—consisting of equipment geared mostly for external defense.

These included multi-role jet fighters, radars, frigates, missile systems, and rescue helicopters.

But the AFP was forced to update its planned acquisition last year and draw up a new list after funding issues caused delays in the earlier stages of the program.

The three-phase modernization program actually began during the second Aquino administration following China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea which Beijing claims almost entirely.

But despite modernization efforts, the Philippine military is still one of the weakest in the region, facing both external and internal security threats, from the maritime conflict with China to the communist insurgency.

The Re-Horizon 3 is anchored on a comprehensive archipelagic defense concept that would allow our military to project power into areas within our Exclusive Economic Zone based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea according (Unclos) and other areas where we have jurisdiction.

The goal is to protect the unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all natural resources, as mandate no less by our Constitution.

Under this concept, the AFP will not only acquire more ships, aircraft and radar systems, but also develop Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea.

With the Department of National Defense working on a P278-billion budget for this year, with P40 billion to be spent for AFP modernization, defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity as mandated by our fundamental law will be an uphill climb, but realizable even if done one step at a time.

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