Imee insists on his father’s defensive attitude in the face of Chinese aggression

By: Chris Panganiban Sr. – 6 minutes ago

Senator Imee Marcos speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Caraga Regional Athletic Games (Crag) at the Datu Lipus Makapandong Governor DO Plaza Sports Complex in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on Sunday, May 4. PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BAYLON JR.

PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR – In the wake of the Chinese Coast Guard’s (CCG) continued harassment of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Senator Imee Marcos reiterated her call for the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) of to revive the country.

This was a program initiated in 1974 by her father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., which aims to develop the country’s defense industry and improve locally produced advanced weapons and equipment for the armed forces.

READ: Marcos: PH will not use water cannons

“Mahirap kang makipag negotiate kung masyado kang mahina. Wala namang strength mapakita puro lang maanghang na salita (It is difficult to negotiate when you are too weak, and you have no strength to show, only strong words),” the senator told reporters on the sidelines of her visit here as guest speaker at the opening of Caraga Regional Athletic Games 2024 on Sunday.

She said the country does not have enough weapons to defend its territory. That is why it is important to revive the SRDP, a program under which the government will manufacture its own weapons.

Marcos first made this call in February last year when he consulted top officers of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) who were working to revive the neglected government program aimed at boosting the country’s self-reliance in the field of develop national defense.

Marcos, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said such a program should be revived to “reduce our dependence on foreign goodwill in the sticky web of geopolitics.”

READ: China used ‘highly fatal’ water cannon pressure in latest attack – PCG

“Thailand is now tailoring rifles that are slimmer and lighter for its soldiers, while Vietnam can now produce anti-surface warfare missiles. How far have we gone?” Marcos asked in her earlier press statement in the Senate.

“In the 1970s to early 1980s, our SRDP was already producing licensed M-16 rifles, steel helmets, hand grenades and other ammunition, portable radios and Jiffy jeeps. It also created jobs and minimized foreign spending,” the senator said, recalling her father’s time.

She added that Philippine manufacturers used local materials along with imported parts, gaining technological knowledge, with the support of the National Science Development Board (NSDB) research and development.

“(In my father’s day) we had mini cruisers, patrol cars, patrol boats and in the 1970s we even had rockets,” she said.

He also said that to effectively deter China’s continued aggression, the country must continue dialogue with neighboring countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “The first round of our defense is our neighbors,” she said.