Australia donates 21 airboats to AFP

MANILA, Philippines - The Australian government has donated and delivered 21 military airboats worth AUS7.8 million to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said the Australian government made the donation in line with its defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines.

Mabanta confirmed the delivery and added the airboats are now being deployed in Mindanao.

Mabanta though clarified the boats would not be used in operations against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Basically, our main objective in deploying these airboats at Liguasan Marsh is to deny the Abu Sayyaf Group and their regional counterpart, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) sanctuary into the area. As to the MILF, we don’t need them because we have peace talks with them,” he said.

Mabanta issued this assurance after the MILF has raised an alarm over the deliveries of the airboats that it claimed are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) last week in Cotabato port.

The MILF also reported that aside from 21 watercraft capable of operating in shallow waters like Liguasan, the military had received 21 amphibian tanks.

They were seen being towed towards the headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Awang, Maguindanao after being unloaded from an Australian cargo vessel, Taras Oceanic Douglas that dropped anchor at Polloc Port last Sept. 11.

“No. There was no amphibian tank. What we have now was a total watercraft system package under the Joint Philippine-Australia Watercraft Project (JPAWP),” Mabanta clarified, referring to the 21 units of airboats and trailer trucks donated by Australia.

The watercraft project which includes training, service and other support systems, Mabanta said, is in accordance with the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) Australia had with the Philippines — a defense agreement signed in Canberra in May 2007.

A staunch ally of the Philippines in its ongoing anti-terrorism drive in Mindanao, the Australian government has promised to provide the AFP the much-needed airboats in order to effectively operate against terrorist groups hiding in the Liguasan marsh.

Apart from being a known enclave of the MILF, Liguasan marsh in Central Mindanao serves as the withdrawal point of Abu Sayyaf and JI militants evading security forces.

“With the airboats, our anti-terror drive in Mindanao is shifting several knots higher,” Mabanta said.

The airboats, according to Mabanta, would be used by Army’s Special Forces Riverine Battalion (SFRB).

Usually used in small unit military operations, the watercraft can carry up to seven fully armed soldiers and can operate in shallow waters and marshlands, the typical terrain in Central Mindanao.

Also known as a fan boat, airboats are flat-bottomed vessels propelled in a forward direction by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine.

Airboats are a very popular means of transportation not only in Australia but also in the Florida Everglades, where they are used for fishing, bow fishing, hunting and eco-tourism.