China on Wednesday donated thousands of guns to the Philippines to help Manila in its battle against Islamist gunmen who are holed up in Marawi.
The shipment of assault and sniper rifles and ammunition is the first example of Chinese military aid since President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to move away from Manila’s traditional ally America and seek Beijing’s support.
It came after China donated P15 million for the rehabilitation of the war-stricken city in Mindanao.
Government troops, backed by airstrikes and artillery, have battled for over a month extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and have allegedly attempted to carve out a province for the international terrorist group there.
Almost 400 people have been killed, including 290 militants and 70 troops, according to official figures.
Earlier in the day, the military said they had found the bodies of 17 civilians killed by the extremists, who have besieged the city since May 23.
The weapons shipment, worth some 50 million yuan ($7.35 million) “highlights the dawn of a new era in Philippine-Chinese relations,” Duterte said.
“We are almost on bended knees sometimes because of lack of equipment. It is a good thing we have a good friend like China who is very understanding,” Duterte noted.
Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua, who formally handed over the weapons, said a “second batch” of weapons would soon be delivered.
“The donation is not big but it is big in the sense that it marks a new era in relations between our two militaries,” the ambassador said.
“The Chinese side would like to explore the possibility of joint training, intelligence sharing and joint military exercises in the area of fighting terrorism,” he added.
The Philippines, which has a mutual defense treaty with the United States, has long relied on US-supplied arms.
But in a swipe at America — which was accused of interfering in the country’s internal affairs— Duterte has said he would seek more weapons from China and Russia.
Duterte, who had declared martial law in the southern Philippines due to the Marawi siege, said he would not lift it until the military and police said conditions were safe. (Agence France Presse)
