Duterte approves U.S. assault rifle deal for Philippine police



MANILA, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will move forward with purchasing over 27,000 assault rifles from the United States, reversing his earlier position.

The rifles will be used by the Philippine National Police. Duterte's reversal comes just weeks after the president said he would consider buying the weapons from Russia if the United States blocked the sale. The controversial head of state gave his approval following a meeting with PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa, who maintained the deal would not meet any opposition.

"We reported to him that the processing of the documents is going smoothly, according to the Sig Sauer. They saw no one is blocking it," dela Rosa told a news conference. "So when I explained that to him, he said 'Okay, you continue'."

Philippine authorities said they began doubting whether the sale would go through after remarks made by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland. The legislator expressed opposition to the sale, saying Duterte's human rights violations during his administration's anti-drug campaign should disqualify the deal.

Philippine officials estimate roughly 4,000 people have been killed in the effort, although human rights organizations such as Amnesty International say this number is likely higher.

The United States and the Philippines signed the $34.6 million contract to provide SIG Sauer M4 assault rifles for the PNP in July 2016. The weapons cost approximately $1,300 each, and are capable of firing semiautomatic or three-round burst to support close-quarter combat.

UPI

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Netherlands, Belgium join on €4 billion military ship purchase



A joint purchase by the Netherlands and Belgium will give the navies of those two countries access to twelve minesweepers and four frigates, according to Belgian media outlet De Redactie. An estimated four-billion euro purchase price will be split by the neighboring nations, presuming Dutch defense minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and her Belgian counterpart, Steven Vandeput, sign the deal later in November.

The cooperation brings down the purchase and running costs, military expert Jens Franssen told Belgian radio on Monday morning. “Belgium and the Netherlands can train crews together,” he said. They can also handle routine maintenance together, as well as long-term repairs, he added. “It is certainly not a coincidence that [Belgium] does this together with the Netherlands. The Belgian navy already works quite closely with the Dutch.”

Franssen went on to say that the investment is important to Belgium because of how dependent its economy is on access to commercial shipping, despite its relatively short coastline.

It is not known if the two countries will share ownership over all of the ships, or if each country is effectively buying half the fleet. Each country’s own specialized knowledge was used to complete the purchase, with the Netherlands negotiating the frigate deal, and Belgium securing the minesweepers.

NL Times

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The Independent SG