BY DEMPSEY REYES, The Manila Times
The Philippines can look for different country sources that can supply choppers similar to those from a Canadian manufacturer whose P12-billion contract with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had been ordered terminated by President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a text message, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday said Russia, China, South Korea, Turkey and India can be the new sources for choppers with capabilities similar to the Bell 412 EPI from Bell Helicopter.
On Friday night, Duterte ordered the AFP to scrap the multibillion deal with Bell Helicopter and Canadian Commercial Corp. (CCC).
His order stemmed from reports that the Canadian government had ordered a review of the helicopter contract after Reuters said the Bell choppers will be used in operations against the communist New People’s Army.
“Are there other suppliers if the Canada deal will not push through? Yes, there are,” Lorenzana said.
“They [Canada] can think of anything they want to. For me, I maintain that they should not meddle since we bought [the helicopters]from them, not asked for [them]. One more thing, these are not attack helicopters but medium-lift [helicopters],” he added.
Last week, Arsenio Andolong, spokesman for the Defense department, said Canada should reconsider its decision to review the contract, adding that human rights violations allegedly committed by the military should be verified first.
On December 29 last year, Lorenzana and representatives of Bell Helicopter and CCC signed the contract for the purchase of the helicopters that will be used by the Philippine Air Force for humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations and for ferrying injured soldiers from the battlefield.
Delivery of the first batch of Bell helicopters had been expected by the first quarter of 2019.
Purchase of these helicopters is part of the AFP modernization program.
Showing posts with label Bell Helicopters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bell Helicopters. Show all posts
Monday, February 12, 2018
Friday, February 9, 2018
Ottawa Orders Review of Combat Helicopter Sale to Philippines
STEVEN CHASE, The Globe and Mail
OTTAWA
The federal government has ordered a review of Canada's deal to sell helicopters to the Philippine military amid rising concerns about supplying armed forces that have been accused of unlawful killings in the Asian country.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is prepared to block the export of the aircraft if necessary, and expressed serious misgivings about human-rights violations under the Duterte government in the Philippines.
International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters the review was prompted by comments from a Filipino military officer regarding the intended use of these equipment.
Philippines Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, told media on Tuesday, the day that news of the deal was released, that the helicopters "will be used for the military's internal security operations."
The federal government did not immediately answer questions on when the deal was reached. A Global Affairs spokeswoman had told reporters this week that Canada was under the impression the helicopters would be used for "disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport and utility transport."
The Philippine military has said the 'copters might also be used for these humanitarian purposes. The Liberal government was on the defensive earlier this week over why Ottawa would allow a deal with the Philippines' armed forces after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced concerns over human-rights abuses by the country's security forces.
Mr. Trudeau drew international headlines last November after he raised the matter of extrajudicial killing with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at an international summit in Manila. Mr. Duterte later lashed out publicly at Mr. Trudeau, calling foreign questioning of the matter "a personal and official insult."
The deal for 16 choppers, brokered by the Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown corporation, is worth more than US$233.36-million. The helicopters are produced by Bell Helicopter in Mirabel, Que. The federal riding of Mirabel is held by the Bloc Québécois.
No export permits yet have been issued in the Philippines deal.
Mr. Champagne told reporters that the government has not approved any permits and none had been sought. He said he is asking the Crown corporation to review the contract immediately.
Most export permits are approved by the Global Affairs bureaucracy, and only a small fraction each year are sent to the foreign affairs minister for a decision, usually because there is disagreement within the civil service or the deal is controversial.
Ms. Freeland vowed in the Commons to investigate this deal.
"The Prime Minister and I have been very clear about the Duterte regime's human-rights violations and extrajudicial killings including while [we visited] the Philippines. I will conduct an extremely rigorous human rights analysis of any potential export permit application related to this contract," Ms. Freeland said.
"I have the power to deny a permit if I feel that it poses a risk to human rights, and I am prepared to do so."
Mr. Champagne said this deal was made in accordance with the terms of an agreement between Canada and the Philippines in 2012, when the Harper government was in power.
The deal was announced as the Philippines military prepares to step up operations against Islamist and communist rebels.
Arms-control advocates question why the Trudeau government is helping equip the military of a country in which death squads have carried out unlawful or unauthorized killings for years – activities that have prompted concern at the highest levels in Ottawa.
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, a disarmament group that is an agency of the Canadian Council of Churches, said the deal reveals weaknesses in Canada's arms-control system.
"The notion that the Philippine military intends to use the helicopters for internal security operations is not at all surprising," he said. "The comments from the Philippine military about the intended use of the helicopters simply confirm the type of risks involved that a rigorous export controls regime should detect."
The arms-control advocate noted the difference in how the Trudeau government has handled two arms deals. In the case of a $15-billion Saudi arms deal reached by the Harper government, the Liberals said they could not break a contract, Mr. Jaramillo said, adding that they appear more flexible in a much smaller deal.
"It is somewhat striking that a single comment from the Philippine military prompted the announcement of this review one day later, while the multibillion-dollar Saudi arms deal has withstood years of concrete red flags about the overriding risk that Canadian equipment might be misused there," he said.
Last November, Mr. Trudeau told Canadians he personally pressed Mr. Duterte on human rights.
"As I mentioned to President Duterte, we're concerned with human rights, with the extrajudicial killings," Mr. Trudeau said at the time. The Prime Minister said Canada has "a reputation for being able to have strong and frank, sometimes firm, discussions around the rule of law and human rights with its partners."
Under the deal, the Bell 412EPI helicopters are to be delivered early next year as Mr. Duterte refocuses the armed forces modernization program to tackle growing domestic threats as Maoist fighters and pro-Islamic State extremists try to regroup.
According to Human Rights Watch, since taking office in 2016, Mr. Duterte has carried out a "war on drugs" in which death of more than 7,000 suspected drug dealers and addicts have been killed.
Cases investigated by the media and rights groups "invariably found unlawful executions by police or agents of the police typically acting as death squads," Human Rights Watch says.
With a report from Reuters
OTTAWA
The federal government has ordered a review of Canada's deal to sell helicopters to the Philippine military amid rising concerns about supplying armed forces that have been accused of unlawful killings in the Asian country.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is prepared to block the export of the aircraft if necessary, and expressed serious misgivings about human-rights violations under the Duterte government in the Philippines.
International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters the review was prompted by comments from a Filipino military officer regarding the intended use of these equipment.
Philippines Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, told media on Tuesday, the day that news of the deal was released, that the helicopters "will be used for the military's internal security operations."
The federal government did not immediately answer questions on when the deal was reached. A Global Affairs spokeswoman had told reporters this week that Canada was under the impression the helicopters would be used for "disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport and utility transport."
The Philippine military has said the 'copters might also be used for these humanitarian purposes. The Liberal government was on the defensive earlier this week over why Ottawa would allow a deal with the Philippines' armed forces after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced concerns over human-rights abuses by the country's security forces.
Mr. Trudeau drew international headlines last November after he raised the matter of extrajudicial killing with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at an international summit in Manila. Mr. Duterte later lashed out publicly at Mr. Trudeau, calling foreign questioning of the matter "a personal and official insult."
The deal for 16 choppers, brokered by the Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown corporation, is worth more than US$233.36-million. The helicopters are produced by Bell Helicopter in Mirabel, Que. The federal riding of Mirabel is held by the Bloc Québécois.
No export permits yet have been issued in the Philippines deal.
Mr. Champagne told reporters that the government has not approved any permits and none had been sought. He said he is asking the Crown corporation to review the contract immediately.
Most export permits are approved by the Global Affairs bureaucracy, and only a small fraction each year are sent to the foreign affairs minister for a decision, usually because there is disagreement within the civil service or the deal is controversial.
Ms. Freeland vowed in the Commons to investigate this deal.
"The Prime Minister and I have been very clear about the Duterte regime's human-rights violations and extrajudicial killings including while [we visited] the Philippines. I will conduct an extremely rigorous human rights analysis of any potential export permit application related to this contract," Ms. Freeland said.
"I have the power to deny a permit if I feel that it poses a risk to human rights, and I am prepared to do so."
Mr. Champagne said this deal was made in accordance with the terms of an agreement between Canada and the Philippines in 2012, when the Harper government was in power.
The deal was announced as the Philippines military prepares to step up operations against Islamist and communist rebels.
Arms-control advocates question why the Trudeau government is helping equip the military of a country in which death squads have carried out unlawful or unauthorized killings for years – activities that have prompted concern at the highest levels in Ottawa.
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, a disarmament group that is an agency of the Canadian Council of Churches, said the deal reveals weaknesses in Canada's arms-control system.
"The notion that the Philippine military intends to use the helicopters for internal security operations is not at all surprising," he said. "The comments from the Philippine military about the intended use of the helicopters simply confirm the type of risks involved that a rigorous export controls regime should detect."
The arms-control advocate noted the difference in how the Trudeau government has handled two arms deals. In the case of a $15-billion Saudi arms deal reached by the Harper government, the Liberals said they could not break a contract, Mr. Jaramillo said, adding that they appear more flexible in a much smaller deal.
"It is somewhat striking that a single comment from the Philippine military prompted the announcement of this review one day later, while the multibillion-dollar Saudi arms deal has withstood years of concrete red flags about the overriding risk that Canadian equipment might be misused there," he said.
Last November, Mr. Trudeau told Canadians he personally pressed Mr. Duterte on human rights.
"As I mentioned to President Duterte, we're concerned with human rights, with the extrajudicial killings," Mr. Trudeau said at the time. The Prime Minister said Canada has "a reputation for being able to have strong and frank, sometimes firm, discussions around the rule of law and human rights with its partners."
Under the deal, the Bell 412EPI helicopters are to be delivered early next year as Mr. Duterte refocuses the armed forces modernization program to tackle growing domestic threats as Maoist fighters and pro-Islamic State extremists try to regroup.
According to Human Rights Watch, since taking office in 2016, Mr. Duterte has carried out a "war on drugs" in which death of more than 7,000 suspected drug dealers and addicts have been killed.
Cases investigated by the media and rights groups "invariably found unlawful executions by police or agents of the police typically acting as death squads," Human Rights Watch says.
With a report from Reuters
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Canada To Sell Combat Helicopters to Philippines despite Deadly War on Drugs
By: David Pugliese, The National Post
Canada is selling 16 combat helicopters to the Philippines — a country where President Rodrigo Duterte is facing widespread condemnation for a war on drugs that has left about 12,000 people dead.
The sale was denounced by human rights activists who warned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was cozying up to some of the more dubious regimes in the world. They pointed to an ongoing deal to sell light-armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, a move the Liberals criticized the Conservative government for arranging but went ahead with when Trudeau came to power.
“The Liberal government had pledged to uphold higher standards after the terrible Saudi arms deal but instead it is selling to the worst and most repressive regime in Asia where the president brags about personally shooting drug users and throwing people out of helicopters,” said Steve Staples, vice president of the Rideau Institute in Ottawa. “How long will it be until the (Philippine) military is using the helicopters during executions?”
Staples pointed out that the deal would not have gone through without the backing of the Canadian government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation.
Canada is selling 16 combat helicopters to the Philippines — a country where President Rodrigo Duterte is facing widespread condemnation for a war on drugs that has left about 12,000 people dead.
 |
| A Philippeanse Air Force Bell 412 Helicopter; delivered in 2015. |
The $234 million deal, brokered by the Canadian Commercial Corporation, involves Bell 412 aircraft which are expected to be built at the U.S. company’s plant in Mirabel, Que.
The sale was denounced by human rights activists who warned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was cozying up to some of the more dubious regimes in the world. They pointed to an ongoing deal to sell light-armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, a move the Liberals criticized the Conservative government for arranging but went ahead with when Trudeau came to power.
“The Liberal government had pledged to uphold higher standards after the terrible Saudi arms deal but instead it is selling to the worst and most repressive regime in Asia where the president brags about personally shooting drug users and throwing people out of helicopters,” said Steve Staples, vice president of the Rideau Institute in Ottawa. “How long will it be until the (Philippine) military is using the helicopters during executions?”
Staples pointed out that the deal would not have gone through without the backing of the Canadian government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation.
Related:
Trudeau’s drug war comments ‘a personal and official insult,’ Duterte says
Trudeau in Manila to pursue deeper trade, security ties in Asia-Pacific
Philippines slams 39 countries calling for end to killings
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, an organization that works to prevent war and armed violence, warned the deal could have serious ramifications. “Given President Duterte’s abysmal human rights record — which Ottawa is no doubt aware of — this raises troubling questions about the risk of the helicopters being equipped with weapons and of their use in human rights violations,” Jaramillo told Postmedia.
He also noted that the sale exposed a major loophole in Canada’s military export controls. “Although the helicopters are being supplied for military use, they are classified by the Canadian government as civilian and thus their export does not require special authorization.”
The NDP’s foreign affairs critic, Hélène Laverdière, called on Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to refuse approval for the export permits needed for the helicopter sale. “How can Trudeau justify this deal with the Philippines when Duterte’s government has plunged the country into a terrible human rights crisis?” Laverdière tweeted.
In a release announcing the deal, Bell Helicopter said it was “honoured” to be supplying the aircraft to the Philippine military.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation also brokered the $15 billion light-armoured vehicles deal with the Saudis — which Trudeau dismissed on the campaign trail as just “jeeps.”
The controversial deal returned to the spotlight last year when it was reported that another type of armoured vehicle from a Canadian firm was being used by the Saudis on their own citizens.
The Saudis have been repeatedly criticized for an appalling human rights record. Government rules call for Canada to curb shipments to countries with a “persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens.”
Duterte has also been condemned by human rights activists for his war on drugs. Last month Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated that the “murderous” war had killed 12,000 people.
The Philippine president — who once boasted about throwing a man to his death from a helicopter — has warned government officials they would face the same fate if he learned they were involved in corruption. After the United Nations criticized him for assorted human-rights violations, Duterte last month denounced the organization as serving “no purpose at all.”
The Philippines has also been fighting a Communist insurgency since 1969 in a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Last year, Duterte faced criticism after cancelling peace talks aimed at ending that conflict. The Philippine military is also involved in a fight against Islamic extremists.
Duterte, who has cracked down on media outlets that have criticized his policies, is a popular leader in the Philippines. His tough stance on the drug war has earned him the praise of U.S. President Donald Trump who has said Duterte was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”
In a report last month, Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, said the “epidemic of police shootings” were often summary executions. “The vast majority of victims were young men from the slums of major cities—people who elicited little sympathy among many Filipinos,” he wrote.
Calling for political leaders to have the courage to stand up for human rights he wrote, “Human rights standards provide guidance but become operational only with champions among governments and ordinary people.”
Canada provided four helicopters to the Philippines in 2015, before Duterte’s election.
Canadian Commercial Corporation declined to comment on what approvals were received to allow the contract to proceed and about Canadian government policy on selling to countries involved in an ongoing war. “For reasons of commercial confidentiality we cannot confirm any other details of the contract,” a corporation spokesperson replied in an email. The CCC did confirm that the contract was signed on Dec. 29, 2017.
Global Affairs Canada said in an email Tuesday that the helicopters will be used for “disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport, and utility transport.”
However, Philippines Major-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, told journalists, “The helicopters will be used for the military’s internal security operations.”
They can be used in a secondary role for search and rescue and disaster relief.
Canadian defence industry representatives have praised the Canadian Commercial Corporation for its efforts in selling military equipment around the world and have pointed out it was now focused on boosting arms sales to the United Arab Emirates.
In a Dec. 18 statement, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan noted that Canada and the United Arab Emirates signed a new defence agreement which not only supports further military cooperation but “also means opening doors for Canadian industry in the region.”
The day after Sajjan’s statement, Norway’s government decided to suspend exports of weapons and ammunition to the UAE because of concerns the equipment could be used in the civil war in Yemen. The UAE is part of a coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, that is fighting Houthi forces who seized the country’s capital city. The fighting has killed more than 5,000 people and Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilian targets has been condemned by the international community.
Germany has also halted arms shipments to Saudi Arabia because of its involvement in the Yemen war
.
Trudeau’s drug war comments ‘a personal and official insult,’ Duterte says
Trudeau in Manila to pursue deeper trade, security ties in Asia-Pacific
Philippines slams 39 countries calling for end to killings
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, an organization that works to prevent war and armed violence, warned the deal could have serious ramifications. “Given President Duterte’s abysmal human rights record — which Ottawa is no doubt aware of — this raises troubling questions about the risk of the helicopters being equipped with weapons and of their use in human rights violations,” Jaramillo told Postmedia.
He also noted that the sale exposed a major loophole in Canada’s military export controls. “Although the helicopters are being supplied for military use, they are classified by the Canadian government as civilian and thus their export does not require special authorization.”
The NDP’s foreign affairs critic, Hélène Laverdière, called on Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to refuse approval for the export permits needed for the helicopter sale. “How can Trudeau justify this deal with the Philippines when Duterte’s government has plunged the country into a terrible human rights crisis?” Laverdière tweeted.
In a release announcing the deal, Bell Helicopter said it was “honoured” to be supplying the aircraft to the Philippine military.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation also brokered the $15 billion light-armoured vehicles deal with the Saudis — which Trudeau dismissed on the campaign trail as just “jeeps.”
The controversial deal returned to the spotlight last year when it was reported that another type of armoured vehicle from a Canadian firm was being used by the Saudis on their own citizens.
The Saudis have been repeatedly criticized for an appalling human rights record. Government rules call for Canada to curb shipments to countries with a “persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens.”
Duterte has also been condemned by human rights activists for his war on drugs. Last month Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated that the “murderous” war had killed 12,000 people.
The Philippine president — who once boasted about throwing a man to his death from a helicopter — has warned government officials they would face the same fate if he learned they were involved in corruption. After the United Nations criticized him for assorted human-rights violations, Duterte last month denounced the organization as serving “no purpose at all.”
The Philippines has also been fighting a Communist insurgency since 1969 in a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Last year, Duterte faced criticism after cancelling peace talks aimed at ending that conflict. The Philippine military is also involved in a fight against Islamic extremists.
Duterte, who has cracked down on media outlets that have criticized his policies, is a popular leader in the Philippines. His tough stance on the drug war has earned him the praise of U.S. President Donald Trump who has said Duterte was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”
In a report last month, Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, said the “epidemic of police shootings” were often summary executions. “The vast majority of victims were young men from the slums of major cities—people who elicited little sympathy among many Filipinos,” he wrote.
Calling for political leaders to have the courage to stand up for human rights he wrote, “Human rights standards provide guidance but become operational only with champions among governments and ordinary people.”
Canada provided four helicopters to the Philippines in 2015, before Duterte’s election.
Canadian Commercial Corporation declined to comment on what approvals were received to allow the contract to proceed and about Canadian government policy on selling to countries involved in an ongoing war. “For reasons of commercial confidentiality we cannot confirm any other details of the contract,” a corporation spokesperson replied in an email. The CCC did confirm that the contract was signed on Dec. 29, 2017.
Global Affairs Canada said in an email Tuesday that the helicopters will be used for “disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport, and utility transport.”
However, Philippines Major-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, told journalists, “The helicopters will be used for the military’s internal security operations.”
They can be used in a secondary role for search and rescue and disaster relief.
Canadian defence industry representatives have praised the Canadian Commercial Corporation for its efforts in selling military equipment around the world and have pointed out it was now focused on boosting arms sales to the United Arab Emirates.
In a Dec. 18 statement, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan noted that Canada and the United Arab Emirates signed a new defence agreement which not only supports further military cooperation but “also means opening doors for Canadian industry in the region.”
The day after Sajjan’s statement, Norway’s government decided to suspend exports of weapons and ammunition to the UAE because of concerns the equipment could be used in the civil war in Yemen. The UAE is part of a coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, that is fighting Houthi forces who seized the country’s capital city. The fighting has killed more than 5,000 people and Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilian targets has been condemned by the international community.
Germany has also halted arms shipments to Saudi Arabia because of its involvement in the Yemen war
.
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