Manila 'Not Afraid Of US Sanctions' For Russian Arms Imports - Defense Undersecretary

The threat of US sanctions will not deter the Philippines from purchasing Russian weapons, while Washington risks losing allies if it ignores their right to pursue an independent foreign policy, the Philippine defense undersecretary, Cardozo M. Luna, told Sputnik in an interview

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2019) The threat of US sanctions will not deter the Philippines from purchasing Russian weapons, while Washington risks losing allies if it ignores their right to pursue an independent foreign policy, the Philippine defense undersecretary, Cardozo M. Luna, told Sputnik in an interview.

"We are not afraid of sanctions, the sanctions of the United States, if we develop good relationships with Russia. I don't think that they should do that. Because we are just exercising our independent foreign policy," Cardozo Luna said.

He described US sanctions pressure on importers of Russian weapons as a "part of their strategic competition," noting that Washington "should think twice" before sanctioning Manila, which only sought to "develop our good relationships with other countries."

"India is buying a lot of equipment from Russia, Malaysia is buying equipment from Russia, Indonesia is buying a lot of equipment from Russia.

Have they been sanctioned? I don't think they [the US] will be selective. And they should not be selective or else they will lose their allies," he argued.

Russia and the Philippines maintain active defense industry cooperation, with Manila stressing its interest in purchasing Russia's advanced weapons. In particular, in August, the countries discussed possible exports of helicopters and small arms to the Philippines.

The same month, Randall Schriver, the US assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, warned that the purchase of Russian military equipment might have an adverse impact on the country's cooperation with the United States, claiming that Washington was a better partner for Manila than Moscow.

Moscow has slammed the US statements as an example of "unfair competition."