Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that his country will only purchase weapons from Israel due to its lack of restrictive measures pertaining to such deals according to i24NEWS.
During a meeting with the Israeli president Reuven rivlin Duterte said he has tasked the military with purchasing arms from Israel for it is the world’s only party that does not stipulate tough conditions on arms deals.
Duterte also touted the United States as “a good company” in this vein but added that “if we buy from them there are limitations same with China and Germany.”
In July an Israeli weapons manufacturer reportedly sold hundreds of assault rifles to anti-drug police in the Philippines. The deal was preceded by Duterte’s remarks that he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts amid the ongoing crackdown on narcotics trafficking in the Philippines which have already claimed the lives of more than 4000 people.
The Philippines President repeatedly touted Israel as an alternative supplier of weapons in the wake of Washington’s decision to stop supplying arms to Manila due to its alleged human rights violations.
Israel one of the world’s top arms dealers started to develop war ties with the Philippines in 2017 when the two counties inked a 21-million-dollar deal whereby Manila purchased Israeli radar and anti-tank equipment.
