US hard-selling arms to aloof Malacañang

The United States is hard-selling weapons. Malacañang is as toughly resisting any arms made in America.

Two US sales pitches were used in recent days. When President Rodrigo Duterte expressed interest in Russian submarines, a Washington official instantly warned against it. Such purchase would be “unhealthy” for Philippine-American military ties, said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver. Buying arms requires investing in closer alliances for training and maintenance. Schriver rattled off reasons why America has been disputing Russia: “Crimea, Ukraine, the chemical attack in UK.”

Slighted, Duterte fired back: “We misunderstand each other on that principle. What’s the problem about acquiring submarines? We are not using (it) against you; neither can we use it against China or anybody else because we are under-armed.” He let Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana proceed to Moscow to check out the subs.

The US tried another tack. State Sec. Mike Pompeo, Defense Sec. James Mattis, and Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross jointly wrote Duterte for a meeting. Highlighting superiority of US weapons, they mentioned possible supplies of F-16 fighters and combat helicopters.

At once Duterte waved them off. F-16s, he said, were “utterly useless” since what the Philippines needs are lighter planes to fight communist insurgents and Islamist terrorists. He also belittled six recent purchases of refurbished UH-1H Huey choppers, three of which have crashed.

It’s obvious from his replies that Duterte just doesn’t want anything American. For, if he finds fighter jets inapt for internal security threats, then more so submarines. Yet he has firmed up procurement of two new frigates from Korea, while the Navy for the first time is test-firing missiles from Israel.

Duterte’s anti-Americanism began in 2016 when outgoing US President Barack Obama criticized his bloody war on drugs. Though he has warmed up to succeeding President Donald Trump, Duterte is still smarting. The Philippine National Police was about to buy 26,000 American M-14 rifles when certain Washington legislators questioned the supply to a potential rogue. Duterte cancelled the deal. He did the same with Bell combat helicopters about to be delivered by Canada, when it too twitted the daily killings of street pushers.

Duterte has tied any arms buy from America to its return of the Balangiga bells. He raises the issue to point up the US Army’s retaliatory massacre of Filipinos in 1901 for routing its detachment in Samar. The bells were taken as war booty, and are on display in US camps in Wyoming and Korea. US Amb. to Manila Sung Kim announced recently that his country’s defense brass are working to restore the Balangiga relics. All that’s left is US Congress’ consent, he said. To which, Duterte retorted that there’s nothing to talk about until the bells are delivered.

The Trump administration aggressively has been selling weapons to various countries since April. Diplomats are under instructions to facilitate processing for interested governments. America is the world’s top arms seller, but is reportedly worried by increasing competition from Russia and China. Allies France, Britain, and Germany also are slicing into its market dominance.

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The chairman of Chinese casino investor Landing Ltd. has gone missing, further dimming its planned operation in Manila. Yang Zhihui, 46, could not be located since Thursday, when shares of his Hong Kong-listed firm plunged 35 percent. An image circulated online of him handcuffed and being escorted at an airport in Cambodia, where he last was reported. Chinese media stated Yang was arrested and repatriated for bribery. Landing said his “temporary” absence would not affect its finances or casino project at Entertainment City, Parañaque. How temporary, as well as the image and deportation were unexplained.

Yang’s jailing for corruption fueled talk why the Philippines dealt with him at all. He was in Manila Aug. 7 for groundbreaking rites of his $1.5-billion resort casino on state-owned Nayong Pilipino. That same day President Duterte’s spokesman disclosed the firing of Nayong Pilipino’s board for “grossly disadvantageous” land lease to Landing. The “flawed” deal is being reviewed, as Duterte wants no more new casinos during his tenure. Seeming unaffected by the board ouster, earthmoving went full blast the following week with heavy equipment and onsite concrete batching plant.

Yang was expanding his newly opened foreigners-only gambling resort in Jeju, Korea. Among Chinese investors he enticed allegedly were money-laundering officials and cash-exporting tycoons. Beijing has been cracking down on sleaze and loose investments. Yang’s arrest allegedly is tied to shady loans from state-owned China Huarong, whose head is in jail since last year. Another borrower, the founder of Tomorrow Group and Yang’s pal, has been held and forced to sell out. Despite Landing’s assurances, its shares dropped 42 percent more on Friday. From all indications, Landing has crashed.

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After last week’s “flight-mare” at Manila International Airport, the cry is for government once and for all to erect alternative gateways. Two have long been proposed: San Miguel Corp.’s six runways and a terminal for 100 million yearly passengers in Bulacan, and the Cavite provincial capitol’s expansion of Sangley base. Well what do you know? The Dept. of Transport too, from its latest official PR, is “pushing for development of complementary airports.” Sec. Art Tugade was quoted as announcing: “Having multiple airports is something the world’s biggest economies do. Ideally there should be a train service linking these airports, which is also being pursued by the government. This complementation strategy was already part of the air transport roadmap from day one.”

The public already heard all those years ago. What it’s waiting for is Tugade’s decision to start to “Build, Build, Build.” Then again, state auditors say that out of 159 funded transport projects in 2017, 153 either were delayed or un-started.

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The Sigma Kappa Pi Fraternity celebrates its 50th anniversary on Saturday. Sept. 1, 6 p.m. with a grand homecoming reunion at the UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni.

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Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., DWIZ (882-AM).

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