The United States has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets worth US$5.58 billion to the Philippines as it builds capability to deter an increasingly aggressive China in the South China Sea. Intriguingly, the sale comes amid calls from the Filipino military chief to prepare against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
On April 1, the US State Department approved the sale of 20 F-16 Fighting Falcons to Manila for US$5.58 billion.
“The State Department has decided to approve a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Philippines of F-16 aircraft,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. The agency noted that the Philippines has requested to buy sixteen F-16 C Block 70/72 aircraft and four F-16 D Block 70/72 aircraft, along with associated equipment and armaments.
The package includes various internal systems, 22 AESA radars, and 24 engines. It also includes a set of lethal munitions, including 60 MK-82 500-lb general-purpose bombs, 60 MK-84 2,000-lb general-purpose bombs, 36 Guided Bomb Unit (GBU)-39/B Small Diameter Bombs Increment 1 (SDB-1), 40 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles, and 32 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs).
The sale will “improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia,” the US State Department said in a statement. It will boost “the Philippine Air Force’s ability to conduct maritime domain awareness” and “enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses.”
The Philippines Air Force (PAF) has been examining two combat aircraft on offer, the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 and the Saab Gripen-E. EurAsian Times earlier published a comparative analysis of the two aircraft, which can be read here.
It is pertinent to note that authorization for the F-16 sale does not automatically mean that an acquisition will go through. A State Department representative told the media that a deal would be finalized only after “a signed letter of offer and acceptance” is signed by the Philippines. This means that an official confirmation from Manila is still awaited.
Earlier, the Philippines had noted that it would acquire 40 fighter jets as part of the Horizon-3 or Phase 3 of the country’s military modernization program.
The purchase of F-16s by the Philippines Air Force would mean yet another upset for the Saab Gripen-E, which had been looking to change its fortunes by wooing the PAF after it won the Royal Thai Air Force’s fighter contract last year. However, since Manila would buy just 20 fighters from the US, there may still be hope for the Gripen.
The upgrade of the PAF would be essential for enhancing the Philippines’ ability to project power beyond its territorial waters. About a decade ago, the country purchased 12 multipurpose fighter jets from South Korea. Of these, one FA-50PH was lost in a crash last month, leaving the PAF with one less fighter in its inventory.
The FA-50PH, best known for its precision strike capability, has been instrumental in counterinsurgency efforts, targeting rebel positions in remote areas where ground troops face difficulties. However, as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), General Romeo Brawner, said last year, they are “still not enough to protect” the country, referring to the security threat posed by China over the South China Sea.
Nonetheless, in addition to a new multi-role fighter, the country is also considering purchasing a dozen additional FA-50 fighters from South Korea to increase its numbers and boost readiness.
The US authorization of sale comes in the wake of rising tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea over multiple territorial disputes. Beijing claims almost the entire sea as its sovereign territory (based on the nine-dash line) and remains embroiled in tensions with multiple Southeast Asian countries with competing claims.
Manila routinely accuses the Chinese forces of being high-handed at sea and in the air, triggering concerns that a miscalculation could trigger a full-scale war. This has prompted the Filipino government to undertake a comprehensive, large-scale military modernization, including the purchase of new fighter jets.
The purchase of American F-16s is hardly a surprise. The US happens to be a Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) ally of the country. Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated US defense commitments to the Philippines, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to “reestablish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region” in light of “threats from the Communist Chinese” during a recent visit to the Philippines.
Having said that, the authorization also interestingly corresponds with new calls from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, calling for his military to prepare for a potential invasion of Taiwan by China.
Philippines To Prepare For A Taiwan Attack
On April 1, the military chief of the Philippines warned that China was trying to infiltrate the Philippine military and other institutions and warned that the country would “inevitably” be involved in an invasion of neighboring Taiwan. “If something happens to Taiwan, inevitably, we will be involved,” Brawner said without naming the potential invader.
He further added, “As members of the armed forces of the Philippines, we should have that mentality that we are already at war.”
General Romeo Brawner made the remarks as Beijing’s military encircled Taiwan in extensive drills as it simulated a blockade of the self-ruled island while branding the Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a parasite. China claims Taiwan as a renegade Chinese province and has vowed to occupy it, with force if necessary.
China’s Xinhua News Agency reported that the Eastern Theater Command conducted “multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south, and east of Taiwan Island.”
Most nations, including the Philippines, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state. However, the Philippines and Taiwan are merely separated by Luzon Strait, a deep channel connecting the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea. A part of this strait, the Bashi Channel runs between the Philippines’ Batanes Islands and Taiwan and is a crucial choke point for ships traveling between the western Pacific and the South China Sea.
The channel is likely to be used by China in the case of an invasion.
In a previous conversation with the EurAsian Times, Miguel Miranda, a Philippines-based military analyst, said, “The Batanes region is a cluster of atolls and islets along the strategic Luzon Strait, a maritime passage and a vital conduit for undersea fiber optic cables.
“Unfortunately, it’s also a crossing point for the Chinese navy when they hold large-scale drills to intimidate Taiwan. In the event of open hostilities between China and Taiwan, there’s no doubt large naval forces will either try to travel or even launch combat operations in and around the Luzon Strait.”
This geographical proximity has given rise to fears that the Philippines would be dragged into a conflict with China if it decided to invade Taiwan. Exhorting his military to prepare for such an eventuality, Brawner said that a part of his soldiers’ job would be “to rescue” a quarter million Filipinos working in Taiwan. He did not, however, detail how he plans to prepare his force against the PLA.
Additionally, Gen. Brawner informed troops at Northern Luzon Command headquarters that the US, an ally, will host extensive joint exercises in the northern Philippines starting on April 21. “These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,” he added.
Gen. Brawner noted that the US and Philippine troops would conduct a “full battle test” of “all of the plans, all of the doctrines, all of the procedures that we have developed in the past years” during the April Balikatan exercises.
While this may be the first time that a high-ranking official in the country has openly admitted to the threat posed by a Taiwan invasion of China, some decisions taken by the military in recent times indicate that it has been silently working to boost its defenses in the north.
Last year, for instance, the US Army deployed the US Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system at the Luzon Islands, which overlooks Taiwan. The system was deployed for military drills in April last year but was never withdrawn from the country.
Armed with long-range missiles, the Typhon system, based in Luzon, could strike strategic military targets on Hainan Island in the northern South China Sea and the southeast coast of mainland China. It can also hit several Chinese marine targets and artificial outposts across the South China Sea, as previously explained by the EurAsian Times.
Additionally, Filipino Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro ordered the military to increase the number of soldiers stationed at the isolated Batanes Island’s northernmost island to fortify the nation’s territorial defense. Before that, in October 2023, the Philippine Navy opened its naval detachment on Mavulis Island in Batanes. Moreover, it is speculated that the US is in talks with the Marcos government to develop a civilian port at Batanes Island.
China earlier warned the Philippines to stop playing with fire. However, recent developments suggest that things just got really heated up in the Indo-Pacific.
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