President Benigno Aquino III. 蜜桃工作室 FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
President Aquino on Thursday ruled out a military confrontation with China over the worsening territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo, the President likened a military action to the local game pitik sa ilong or flicking the nose with the fingers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 agree with the [suggestion] that a military confrontation is inevitable or cannot be avoided,鈥� Aquino said.
Even in a flicking-of-noses match with China, the Philippines, he said, has a problem: 鈥淭hey [Chinese] are 1.3 billion, we are only 100 million.鈥�
鈥淎s children would say, let鈥檚 just flick each other on the nose. We give them one flick on the nose, they give us 13. Our noses would swell right away,鈥� the President said.
Still, the government continues to strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Aquino said.
鈥淚 hold my head high and without fear that someone would contradict [me] if I say that the AFP鈥檚 capabilities now are so much more than before,鈥� he said.
鈥淩ecords show how this administration has surpassed all that [had been] done [under] the AFP Modernization Law, and it was this administration that pushed for the extension of the modernization [law],鈥� he added.
The President said under the capability upgrade of the AFP, the military now has Hamilton class-cutters for the Navy, brand-new and refurbished helicopters and more than 70,000 rifles.
Two Korean-made FA-50 trainer jets will be delivered at the end of this year.