EDITORIAL - Put them to good use

In keeping with an earlier promise, outgoing US president Donald Trump recently sent National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien here bearing gifts; P868 million worth of defense materials, smart bombs, and guided ordnance.

And what an arsenal it is. For starters there are 100 TOW-2A missiles, 12 ITAS and 24 MK-82s.

According to online sources, the TOW-2A missiles, while primarily designed for use against hostile armor, can also be deployed against bunkers and other enemy fortifications, and can also be used in amphibious landing operations. The ITAS missiles are somewhat the same, but can be used in total darkness and even severe weather, while the MK-82 is a general purpose bomb that can be deployed against enemy ground targets.

And last, but definitely not the least, is a $14.79-million ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System. The system is set to be given to the Navy to boost our “maritime domain awareness and border security capabilities”.

Now we should not let this all of this go to our head. Yes, that is a lot of firepower and support, but we should be prudent when it comes to how we will use them.

Because one time we actually did go overboard with what we have. This was after we were gifted with a US coast guard cutter that we insisted on calling a battleship and immediately sent it to secure our territorial waters. As a columnist in this newspaper writes, it was the actions of this cutter that inadvertently allowed China the opportunity to press for its baseless territorial claims in our waters.

We are not saying we should not use these resources, otherwise they won’t serve their purpose if we just let them rot in some armaments storage facility. We are saying we should be wise in using them.

Considering how many threats we face from outside this country, and from within as well, there will be good occasions to put them to use.