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PH-China military training program under review over water cannon attack - AFP Chief

Philippines | National

PH-China military training program under review over water cannon attack - AFP Chief

By Martin Sadongdong

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has stopped the deployment of military officers to China for a military exchange program after Chinese vessels fired a water cannon against Philippine supply boats in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) back in August.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. revealed this as he confirmed that the training program established under the 2004 China-Philippines Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation is currently being reviewed.

"The suspension of sending Filipino troops to train in China is in reaction to August 5 water cannoning," Brawner said in a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) on Thursday, Oct. 19.

It can be recalled that a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel used a water cannon against two AFP-chartered boats bringing supplies to Filipino soldiers onboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in WPS on August 5 to block the mission.

The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in Ayungin Shoal.

According to Brawner, the AFP has started sending five officers to China to train yearly since 2007 under the purview of the MOU.

So far, a total of 74 officers have already been deployed to China as part of the training program.

"But since the water cannoning early this year, [the] Philippines has to pause, step back," he said.

As for Chinese officers studying in the Philippines, Brawner said they could not control the things that they have been reporting to their government.

He, however, assured the public that all the foreign students, not just Chinese, are not exposed to the country's "state secrets."

According to reports, there was at least one Chinese student studying at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) in Camp Aguinaldo.

Related Tags

AFP romeo brawner jr.

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