West Philippine Sea: Marcos OKd purchase of more fighter jets – AFP chief

Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. | FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines—President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has green-lighted plans to purchase multirole fighter (MRF) aircraft as part of the government’s thrust to bolster external defense capabilities.

However, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., there are no final decisions on details such as the type of MRF and how many would be purchased.

“There is still no final decision on what MRFs we are going to buy, but definitely the president has already approved the intention to buy MRFs,” Brawner said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.

READ: PH, Sweden sign pact on fighter purchases

Last month, the Philippines and Sweden inked a key agreement for Manila’s planned acquisition of MRF for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The continuing effort to build up PAF’s deterrence comes amid Beijing’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea based on its assertion of sovereignty in the entire South China Sea, encroaching on Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

On Monday, PAF simulated the retaking of an enemy-occupied military base in the country using all its main air assets held at the upgraded airstrip funded by the United States under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement at Basa Air Base, home of the air force’s fighter planes.

READ: Basa Air Base opens rehabbed runway in biggest-ever Edca project to date

PAF currently uses a dozen of South Korean-built light combat aircraft, FA-50s, after retiring its remaining fighters in 2005.

“We saw the capability of our FA50 jet fighters, but they are still not enough to protect our country, so we need to get more of these jet fighters and multirole fighters,” Brawner said.