DND amenable to President Duterte’s announcement of joint-naval drills with China

“The DND welcomes every opportunity to forge stronger defense ties with other countries, especially given the fact that we now face threats which necessitate responses on an international scale,” DND public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong said in a message to the Philippine News Agency Tuesday. (Photo: Department of National Defense – Philippines/ Facebook)

MANILA–The Department of National Defense (DND) is fine with President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement that he is willing to allow Philippine Navy (PN) ships to conduct naval maneuvers with their Chinese counterparts.

“The DND welcomes every opportunity to forge stronger defense ties with other countries, especially given the fact that we now face threats which necessitate responses on an international scale,” DND public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong said in a message to the Philippine News Agency Tuesday.

He also added that it also is customary for various armed forces to train together to become familiar with each other.

“Having joint military exercises with other countries will benefit us since these will expose our troops to new doctrines and new technology. These will also allow us to assess how our own doctrines fare against our foreign counterparts,” Andolong pointed out.

Earlier, the Chief Executive said he is amenable to having PN ships conduct naval drills with its Chinese counterparts especially in Sulu and Mindanao waters.

Duterte made this announcement after visiting the three Chinese naval ships in Sasa Wharf, Davao City Monday.

The visiting Chinese ships as the guided-missile destroyer Chang Chun (DDG-150), guided-missile frigate Jin Zhou (FFG-532) and Type 903 replenishment ship Chao Hu (890).