ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Friday defended the firing of American and Japanese missile systems in the Philippines, saying Philippine troops need training on modern weapons “we can get our hands on.”
Brawner was responding to criticisms after Japan’s Type 88 surface-to-ship missile and United States’ Typhon Mid-Range missile were fired during drills conducted under this year’s Balikatan exercise.
“As far as the Armed Forces of the Philippines is concerned, we want to train our personnel in all the modern weapons that we can get our hands on. Because we believe that we have to develop our own capabilities so that we can defend the archipelago by ourselves,” Brawner told reporters during the closing ceremony of Balikatan.
Although the Philippines has gained more defense partners, it has to rely on itself first, which includes plans of procuring more missile systems fired during the exercise, Brawner said.
“That is the future direction of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as we modernize our capabilities,” he said.
