Trade in arms and bananas, but no security alliance with Russia

MOSCOW – The Philippines may be acquiring weapons from Russia but the two countries will not forge a strategic security alliance and will only focus on boosting economic ties, an envoy said Tuesday.  

 

Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta said Russia has no plans of becoming a military power in the region and that its rebalance towards Asia is geared towards strengthening economic relationships.

 

“They just want a good relationship, a very respectful one. Right now, they want to start heavily on the economic and then eventually on security but not on the strategic security just defense cooperation,” Sorreta said in a press conference  here on Monday.

 

“They don’t want to be a military power in our region. They have no interest in competing with the existing power dynamics. They want to engage our region, Southeast Asia, purely on economic, cultural, people-to-people,” he added.

 

Duterte has announced plans to acquire precision-guided bombs to strengthen the Philippine security forces’ campaign against terrorists. He said Russia is also ready to provide the Philippines all the defense equipment it needs.

 

The Philippine leader is here for a four-day official visit, where he is expected to witness the signing of bilateral security agreements.

 

These agreements include defense cooperation, military and technical cooperation and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of security between the national security councils of Manila and Moscow.

 

Sorreta clarified that the acquisition of weapons from Russia is different from forging a strategic defense alliance.

He said Russia sells firearms without conditions unlike the US, which he said provided the Philippine armaments that are “loaded with conditionalities.”

 

“I think one of the best arguments is there is no conditionality. The arms will be sold and they trust us to use it properly,” Sorreta said.  

 

“I have always believed that our brave men and women in uniform should not be going into battle carrying arms attached to strings that run all the way to Washington,” he added.

 

Sorreta said Russians do not impose limits on the military equipment acquired from them.

 

“If you want to buy an attack helicopter, they (Russia) will train you and make sure you use it – you know how to use it and they will sell it to you. They will not say, ‘we are not going to sell it to you because we are afraid you will not use it,'” Sorreta said.

 

“We are talking about attack helicopters that has night vision and infrared that can detect enemies in the thick of the jungle at night. They were talking about air power that could be the turning point in fighting our internal threat,” he added.

 

“The Russians will not limit it. They will sell it. They are not going to give you a lecture ‘No, we won’t sell it because we don’t trust you. You might hit billions'.”

 

Among the buyers of Russian arms are China, India, Iran, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.  

 

Sorreta also noted that holding bilateral military drills similar to the Philippines-US Balikatan exercises would be costly.

Sorreta said now is the good time to enhance economic ties with Russia, which previously focused its trade engagements on Europe.

 

“They are expanding their economic engagements on the eastern side, the Asian side of Russia. Their cooperation with China, Korea and Japan is just absolutely amazing, billions and billions of dollars worth of cooperation on the East side. Very sparsely populated areas and they’re focusing now on also on Southeast Asia. So I think it’s a good time,” the envoy said.

 

Sorreta said one of the Philippines’ targets is to send more agricultural products to Russia like tuna and bananas. He noted that Russia is a huge market for Philippine bananas as it imports $1 billion worth of the fruit per year.

 

The ambassador said the Philippines can also export more coco sugar to Russia, which he described as “a country that likes sweet stuff.”

 

Other Philippine agricultural products exported to Russia are processed fruit like dried mangoes and desiccated coconut oil.

 

“I think there’s a market there but it’s really a matter of awareness,” Sorreta said.

 

The trade volume between the Philippines and Russia hit $422 million last year.

Sorreta said while Russia is seeking to expand economic ties with Asia, it does not meddle with the internal affairs of other nations

 

Asked how Russia reacted to Duterte’s tirades against the supposed interference of the US and the European Union with his drug war, Sorreta said the country follows a policy of non-interference.

 

“They don’t want to make enemies for us or tell us who not to be friends with unlike other countries. So they just want a good relationship, a very respectful one,” Sorreta said.  

 

"They basically respect a country’s decision in what to do. For example, on human rights which is a big issue for Western countries, we have had our ambassadors there summoned and given the views of the host country."

 

Sorreta said Russia believes that sovereign states are capable of making decisions for themselves and would benefit or suffer by those decisions.

 

Russia has not taken sides on the South China Sea dispute, which involves its ally China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

While western countries are accusing him of being a killer and human rights violator, Duterte is “greatly admired” by Russians for his “strong leadership,” Sorreta said.

 

“I can’t change the channel on TV without seeing coverage of the Philippines and our president. And it’s not the kind of coverage you would see in New York or in Europe, Western Europe. It’s a coverage that shows great admiration, great desire to develop relations,” the envoy said.

 

“I think Russians in general admire strong leadership. They admire predictability. They admire consistency. So they see all these with our president. And one thing they truly admire is his strong and committed desire to build service to the people,” he added.

 

Sorreta said in some instances, history has shown that strong leadership has led to the growth of the country, to benefits to the people.

 

“I think the appeal is there. I see here in Russia because they trust (Russia president) Mr. (Vladimir) Putin. In the same way I see in our country, they trust our president and they’re willing to give them a chance,” he added.