Despite disagreements in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Friday, January 21, China has donated over a billion pesos worth of equipment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
According to the DND, the first batch of the P1,052,395,057 ($21 million) total donations, already arrived in Manila on January 16. The initial tranche was worth P615 million.
The second batch of donations worth P437 million will be delivered on a later date.
The DND did not specify the arrival date of the second batch of donations. Meanwhile, the defense department said the equipment would be formally turned over to them and to the AFP next month.
The donations include:
- Rescue and relief equipment
- Drone systems
- Detectors
- Water purification vehicles
- Ambulances
- Fire trucks
- X-ray machines
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal robots,
- Bomb disposal suits and transport vehicles
- Engineering equipment such as backhoes, dumptrucks, forklifts, and Earthmovers
Philippines; Beijing donates military equipment valued at $21 million