MANILA, Philippines – SINABI ni Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. na ang Pilipinas ay magsasagawa ng ‘reshaping’ sa tanggulan nito para mas may kakayahan ito at matibay laban sa modernong pagbabanta.
“The President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) has instructed us to be unyielding and to reshape our defense ecosystem as quickly as possible into a multi-threat, multi-domain system,” ang sinabi ni Teodoro sa kanyang naging talumpati sa harap ng mga miyembro ng European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines sa Makati City.
Itinulak din ng Kalihim ang ‘greater transparency, trust, at shared growth’ sa tanggulan at industrial development kasama ang organisasyon.
“The Philippines is “at the spearhead” of current threats to the international order,” ani Teodoro sabay tinukoy ang pinakabagong ilegal na aksyon ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea.
“To achieve this, the DND is pursuing two key thrusts: building internal defense resilience and expanding strategic engagements with like-minded nations,” dagdag na pahayag ni Teodoro.
Tinukoy naman nito bilang halimbawa sa estratehiyang ito ang ‘advanced talks’ para sa Visiting Forces Agreements kasama ang France at United Kingdom, na may ‘similar arrangement’ kasama ang Canada.
“The more convergence of like-minded countries at the spear’s tip, the better,” ayon kay Teodoro.
“We must resist and deter any attempt to change the international order to the detriment of our people and future generations,” ang tinuran ng Kalihim.
Binigyang diin din ni Teodoro ang pangangailangan na ireporma ang ‘defense acquisition at funding systems’ ng bansa, sabay sabing ang defense spending ay matagal ng “miserably low.”
Ipaprayoridad naman ng DND, ang development ng strategic bases at i- adopt ang government-to-government arrangements para sa defense procurements at joint industrial production.
“We will focus on what we truly need, not just what is available,” anito.
Ang defense self-reliance ay sasandal sa ‘reliable, diversified, at secure supply chains’ na nakaayon sa national interests ng Pilipinas. Kris Jose
