Philippines eyes US helicopters after scrapping Russian deal

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine officials are considering a U.S. offer to provide heavy-lift helicopters like its widely used Chinooks after Manila scrapped a deal to buy military choppers from Russia due to fears of Western sanctions, the Philippine ambassador to Washington said Monday.

Then-President Rodrigo Duterte approved the cancellation of the signed deal to buy 16 Russian Mi-17 helicopters due to concerns over possible Western sanctions, which could hamper fast bank transfers of the income Filipino workers send home from the U.S. and other Western countries, Ambassador Jose Romualdez said.

Romualdez said Washington did not pressure the Philippines to drop the 12.7 billion peso (U.S. $227.7 million) deal with the Russians.

But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, countries that would purchase Russian equipment could face Western sanctions, he said.

“I think it was really prudent specially for President Duterte to approve the cancellation of that contract because it can save us a lot of trouble,” Romualdez told an online news conference organized by Manila-based foreign correspondents.

The U.S. offer to sell Boeing CH-47 Chinooks was discussed as early as last year by former Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Washington even before Duterte was persuaded by key Cabinet members to cancel the deal, Romualdez said.

One of Duterte’s Cabinet members, Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, warned Duterte then that Western countries may withhold assistance that could help the Philippines deal with and recover from coronavirus outbreaks, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly.

Lorenzana first confirmed the cancellation of the contract to secure Russia’s helicopters in an interview with AP last month. After serving as defense chief under Duterte, Lorenzana has been appointed by new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to head a government agency in charge of transforming former military bases into business hubs.

Romualdez said the Philippine government under Duterte made an initial payment of about $38 million to secure the Russian military transport helicopters and he would recommend Marcos Jr. and his top defense and foreign officials try to ask the Russians to provide other weapons or equipment that would be covered by that down payment.

“Definitely we will not just simply say goodbye to that money,” Romualdez said. “It’s still a big amount as far as we’re concerned.”

A Filipino military official has said the helicopter deal would undergo a “termination process” after the Philippine decision to cancel it was made since a contract has already been signed. The Russians can appeal but there is little room for the Philippine government to reconsider, said the official.

Under the scrapped helicopter purchase agreement, which was signed in November, the first batch of the multipurpose helicopters would have been scheduled for delivery by Russia’s Sovtechnoexport in about two years. Aside from the 16 helicopters, one unit should have been given for free to the Philippines, defense officials said.

The Russian-made helicopters could have been used for combat, search and rescue operations, and medical evacuations in the Southeast Asian archipelago, which is often lashed by typhoons and other natural disasters, Philippine officials said.

In March, the Philippines voted “yes” on a U.N. General Assembly resolution that demanded an immediate halt to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine and the withdrawal of all Russian troops.

Duterte has expressed concern over the global impact of the Russian invasion but has not personally condemned it. When he was in office, he nurtured close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he once called his “idol,” and Chinese leader Xi Jinping while frequently criticizing U.S. security policies.

The Philippines is a treaty ally of the United States, which has imposed heavy sanctions on Russia aimed at pressuring it to pull back from Ukraine.

Due to financial constraints, the Philippines has struggled for years to modernize its military, one of the most underfunded in Asia, to deal with decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies and to defend its territories in the disputed South China Sea.

菲律宾马尼拉——菲律宾驻华盛顿大使周一表示，由于担心西方制裁，马尼拉取消了从俄罗斯购买军用直升机的交易，菲律宾官员正在考虑美国提出的提供重型运输直升机（如其广泛使用的奇努克直升机）的提议。

时任总统罗德里戈·杜特尔特批准取消了购买 16 架俄罗斯米-17 直升机的已签署协议，原因是担心西方可能实施制裁，这可能会阻碍菲律宾工人从美国和其他西方国家汇回的收入的快速银行转账，大使何塞·罗穆亚尔德斯说。

罗穆亚尔德斯表示，华盛顿并没有向菲律宾施压，要求其放弃与俄罗斯达成的价值 127 亿比索（2.277 亿美元）的交易。

但他表示，继俄罗斯2月份入侵乌克兰之后，购买俄罗斯装备的国家可能会面临西方的制裁。

罗穆亚尔德斯在马尼拉外国记者组织的一次线上新闻发布会上表示：“我认为杜特尔特总统批准取消该合同是非常明智的，因为它可以为我们省去很多麻烦。”

罗穆亚尔德斯表示，早在去年，菲律宾前国防部长德尔芬·洛伦扎纳和他的美国同行劳埃德·奥斯汀就在华盛顿讨论了美国向菲律宾出售波音CH-47“支奴干”直升机的提议，当时杜特尔特还未被内阁主要成员说服取消这笔交易。

两名菲律宾官员匿名告诉美联社，杜特尔特内阁成员、财政部长桑尼·多明格斯当时警告杜特尔特，西方国家可能会扣留援助，而这些援助本可以帮助菲律宾应对和从冠状病毒疫情中恢复过来。这两名官员表示，他们没有权力公开讨论这个问题。

洛伦扎纳上个月在接受美联社采访时首次证实了取消向俄罗斯采购直升机的合同。在杜特尔特总统任内担任国防部长后，洛伦扎纳被新任总统费迪南德·马科斯任命领导一个政府机构，负责将前军事基地改造为商业中心。

罗穆亚尔德斯表示，杜特尔特领导下的菲律宾政府已支付约 3800 万美元的首付款，以确保获得俄罗斯军用运输直升机。他建议小马科斯及其高级国防和外交官员尝试要求俄罗斯提供其他武器或设备，这些费用将包含在首付款中。

“我们绝对不会就这么放弃这笔钱，”罗穆亚尔德斯说。“对我们来说，这仍然是一笔巨款。”

一位菲律宾军方官员表示，由于合同已经签署，菲律宾决定取消这笔直升机交易后，该交易将进入“终止程序”。这位官员还表示，俄罗斯方面可以提出上诉，但菲律宾政府几乎没有重新考虑的余地。

根据去年11月签署但已被取消的直升机采购协议，俄罗斯苏维埃技术出口公司原计划在两年左右交付首批多用途直升机。国防官员表示，除这16架直升机外，还应免费赠送一架给菲律宾。

菲律宾官员表示，这些俄罗斯制造的直升机原本可以用于东南亚群岛的作战、搜救行动和医疗后送，该群岛经常遭受台风和其他自然灾害的袭击。

今年3月，菲律宾投票赞成联合国大会一项决议，该决议要求莫斯科立即停止对乌克兰的攻击并撤出所有俄罗斯军队。

杜特尔特对俄罗斯入侵的全球影响表示担忧，但他本人并未对此予以谴责。在他执政期间，他与俄罗斯总统普京（他曾称普京为“偶像”）和中国领导人习近平保持着密切关系，同时经常批评美国的安全政策。

菲律宾是美国的条约盟友，而美国对俄罗斯实施了严厉制裁，旨在迫使俄罗斯从乌克兰撤军。

由于财政拮据，菲律宾多年来一直难以实现军队现代化，其军队是亚洲资金最不足的军队之一，难以应对持续数十年的穆斯林和共产主义叛乱，也难以保卫其在有争议的南海的领土。