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Duterte says weapons from China ready for pick up
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday that the weapons being offered by China to the Philippine military are ready for pick up.
In a speech in a military camp in Tarlac, the Chief Executive said he has ordered Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to find ways on how to get the arms from Beijing.
"I don't know if I would tell you this, China is pressing me that the arms are there. What I have to do is just to accept them. They are in a hurry," he said.
Duterte said Lorenzana might send military general to receive the weapons.
He noted that with China's offer, the Philippines does not need anymore to ask assistance from other countries.
The President said the arms from China would practically be considered "free" or "grant" because they would be paid for 25 years.
Duterte did not mention how many and the type of weapons that China would be extending to the Philippines.
The relationship between the Philippines and China went back to normal after Duterte undertook a state visit to Beijing in October.
While the Permanent Court of Arbitration decided in favor of the Philippines by invalidating China's nine-dash line in the disputed South China Sea, Duterte, who came into office in June, said there should be a "soft landing" on the Philippine relationship with China.
The administration of then President Benigno Aquino III questioned before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal the validity of China's nine-dash line, which covers almost the entire South China Sea, including those areas within the 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zones of the surrounding countries, including the Philippines. Celerina D. Monte/DMS
