(Eagle News) — China on Thursday donated P168-million worth of assault rifles and ammunition to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help the country in its fight against terrorism.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and AFP Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año received the over 3,000 assault rifles and ammunition from Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua in turnover ceremonies at the AFP headquarters in Quezon City.
This is the second donation of weapons given by the Asian giant, whose relations with the Philippines took a turn for the better when President Rodrigo Duterte took office.
In June, China gave the Philippines P370-million worth of guns and ammunition to help authorities combat the terrorists who had overrun Marawi in May.
“We are lucky that the Chinese government provided the firearms,” Lorenzana said, thanking China.
According to Lorenzana, the new weapons would be turned over to the Philippine National Police who, Duterte said, needed them more.
America, an ally
Despite warming relations with China, Lorenzana said the United States continued to be an ally.
“The president said: ‘I want to be friendlier to the US’. So we have a closer relationship and more exercises,” Año said.
According to Año, the joint exercises would focus on counter-terrorism, disaster response and even territorial defense.
“The US is not our enemy. China is not our enemy. Our utmost priority is the interest of the country,” Ano said. (Agence France Presse)
