Thursday, July 06, 2006
RP to receive 26 US helicopters for counterinsurgency (1:00 p.m.)
MANILA -- The Philippine military will soon obtain 26 Vietnam War-era US helicopters as it attempts to wipe out a long-running communist insurgency, an air force spokesman said Thursday.
At least six of the UH-1H helicopters, popularly known as Hueys, will arrive this month, said air force Maj. Augusto dela Pena. The other 20 will arrive by the end of the year.
"Definitely this is going to be a big boost in our intensified campaign against the New People's Army," he said, referring to the communist rebels. The military will utilize the helicopters as attack and transport aircraft.
Six Hueys have been refurbished at the expense of the Philippine government, and the 20 others were donated by the US under anExcess Defense Articles program promised by President George W. Bush during President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's visit to Washington in 2003, dela Pena said.
Arroyo last month ordered an intensified campaign to finish off the 37-year-old communist insurgency, backing it with the release of P1 billion (US$19 million; euro15 million) to buy more attack helicopters and other military equipment.
The Philippine Air Force currently has 45 operational Hueys used extensively as helicopter gunships, for transporting troops and field supplies, for medical evacuations, and disaster relief operations.
The rebels broke off Norweigian-brokered peace talks two years ago to protest the government's refusal to lobby for their removal from US and European terrorism lists.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye has dismissed recent rebel calls to resume the talks, saying they must first agree to a cease-fire. The guerrillas have refused to sign a truce before a political settlement is reached.(AP) |
