Russia Hands over Kalashnikov Rifles, Army Trucks To Philippines

Russia on Wednesday donated military equipment and trucks to the Philippines in a handover ceremony held in the port of Manila, on board the Russian Pacific Fleet’s large antisubmarine warfare ship Admiral Panteleyev.

The transfer of military products includes 20 units of multi-purpose vehicles, 5,000 units of AK-74M Kalashnikov assault rifles, 1 million units of ammunition and 5,000 units of steel helmets.

On Tuesday, Russia and the Philippines signed an intergovernmental agreement on military technical cooperation on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of defense ministers from the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners, TASS reports.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte said that the military could expect rifles from Russia.

In May 2017, Russia and Philippines signed an agreement wherein the former will supply much needed modern military hardware to the East Asian country as well as cooperate on further defence and counter-terrorism measures as well as the war against drugs.

Philippines has battled an Islamist insurgency for decades in the south of the country. In addition to radicalised citizens of Philippines, the fighters include those of Indonesian and Malaysian origin, including some who were unable to get to Syria and Iraq in order to wage Salafist war/jihad.