MANILA (PNA) — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he will ensure that only essential modern technologies needed by the military will be prioritized, once the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Revitalization Act is enacted into law.
“My vision of the SRDP is not to subsidize obsolescent technologies and backyard industries, because that is not the asymmetry that our armed forces need. Our Armed Forces need asymmetric capabilities. We need higher technology capabilities,” he said.
Teodoro made his position known during his speech at the Blue Economy Annual Trade and Conference (BEACON) Expo 2024 held at the SMX Convention Center on Wednesday.
The defense secretary did not elaborate on the asymmetric capabilities that he wants developed for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Asymmetric capabilities refer to unconventional strategies, tactics or even technologies to counter a much superior force.
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The defense chief, however, cited as an example the need for durability or toughness when building ships.
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“In shipbuilding, we need durability. You see the current ramming incidents against our vessels. If these vessels were steel-hulled and reinforced, I guess we know what the conclusion is,” he said.
Teodoro was referring to the growing number of incidents where Chinese maritime forces rammed Philippine ships to stop them from carrying out their mandate in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In August, the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report on Senate Bill 2455 and House of Representatives Bill 9713 or the SRDP Act.
The measure seeks to ensure adequate defense assets and hardware for the country through domestic production and manufacturing, and the development of a national defense industry.
Teodoro also noted that the DND is “undertaking a strict regime of operational security.”
“And when we engage with any foreign partner, actor proponent, firstly, they must be aligned with our country’s strategic interests, particularly in the WPS. No alignment, then I cannot trust the supply chain,” he said.
Aside from this, he noted that potential partners must be the manufacturers and not the consolidators, as the country had a lot of bad experiences with the latter.
He, however, did not elaborate.
‘Blue Water Navy’ vision
As this developed, Teodoro said the Philippines needs to have its “future Navy” to have the capability to safeguard Filipino ships and seafarers, wherever they are.
“That will be a future mission of our Philippine Navy, which is why we are gearing up their ambition. We are gearing up their skill sets. We are gearing up their horizons in order to be a true ‘Blue Water Navy,’ not for the purpose of waging offensive operations against any person, but for the sole purpose of protecting two things,” he said.
“Number one, enforcing international norms on the high seas, and secondly, protecting Filipino citizens and assets under the flag of the Philippines on the sea lanes wherever they may be found,” he pointed out.
“Blue Water Navy” refers to a naval force capable of operating globally.
Teodoro said such capability is needed considering the volatility of maritime routes.
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He cited as an example Iran’s latest missile attack on Israel that can affect shipping operations in the Red Sea. (PNA)
