MANILA: The Philippines has scrapped an order for 16 Russian military helicopters, an official confirmed on Wednesday, following reports former president Rodrigo Duterte decided to cancel it due to US sanctions on Moscow.
Manila -- a longtime Washington ally -- agreed in November to pay 12.7 billion pesos ($228 million) for the Mi-17 helicopters, as it seeks to modernise its military hardware. The United States and its allies imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow in the wake of its assault on Ukraine in February.
They are aimed at cutting off Russia from the global financial system and choking off funds available to Moscow to finance the war. The Philippine defence department was "formalizing the termination" of the contract, spokesman Arsenio Andolong said Wednesday.
Without mentioning US sanctions on Moscow, Andolong told AFP "changes in priorities necessitated by global political developments resulted in the cancellation of the project by the previous administration".
Delfin Lorenzana, who served as defence secretary under Duterte, said in March that the Philippines had paid a deposit for the transport helicopters before war erupted in Ukraine and the deal was "on track".
But last week Lorenzana, who now heads a different government agency, told local media that Duterte himself decided to cancel the deal in the waning days of his administration over the sanctions threat.
"I don’t know if we can still get back the money since we were the ones who terminated the contract," Lorenzana told reporters. Russian embassy officials in Manila could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
BENGALURU, India: Indian social media influencer Chandni Bhagat has been creating devotional videos on Instagram for...
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s losing presidential candidates laid out their court challenge on Wednesday to last month’s...
YANGON: Myanmar’s ruling general said on Wednesday the junta was holding power only temporarily with the aim of...
GAZA STRIP: Israel bombed at least four homes in Rafah on Wednesday, raising new fear among the more than a million...
NEW DELHI: India’s opposition alliance needs to stick together to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an...
InterpolAg ReutersSINGAPORE: Organised crime rings who fuelled an “explosion” of human trafficking and cyber scam...
LONDON: More than 4,600 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats so far in 2024, a record total for the...
OTTAWA: Canada’s population touched a record high of 40.77 million in 2023, largely driven by temporary immigration,...