By Robina Asido

LAL-LO, Cagayan -- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said helicopters and ships were among the assets they requested under the Official Security Assistance (OSA) of Japan.

"From the side of the Army we requested helicopters. They are still hesitant to provide firearms, so others are ships," he said Thursday.

Brawner said the ships requested by the AFP are "smaller types of ships" like what they have provided to the Philippine Coast Guard.

He revealed that a total of 29 helicopters were requested for the Philippine Army but he added that there is no feedback yet from the government of Japan.

"We requested around 29 but I do not know if they can provide that to us," he said.

In December 2022, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) pledged to transfer UH-1J utility helicopters to the Philippine Army through its government grant.

This was announced by the JASDF at a bilateral meeting between the two armies during the first-ever Japan-Philippine-US Trilateral Key Leaders’ Engagement at Camp Asaka, Tokyo on December 11.

In a previous interview, Brawner assures that the helicopters that will be donated by Japan to the Philippine Army (PA) will not be used for combat operations.

On Tuesday, a ranking Japan lawmaker said the "Philippines is one of the first candidate countries for OSA" of Japan.

This was mentioned by Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians Friendship League (JPPFL) chairman Moriyama Hiroshi in his meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his visit to the Palace on Tuesday.

After his courtesy call in Malacanang, Moriyama also visited Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday.

During their meeting, Teodoro "expressed his appreciation for Japan’s continued support in enhancing the Philippines’ situational awareness in the maritime domain as well as assisting in the development of humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) capabilities through civil defense."

He also "looked forward to Japan’s further support to the Philippines’ self-reliant defense posture (SRDP) in a sustainable and viable manner, particularly in cross-border investment, project execution, and process management."

Arsenio Andolong, Department of National Defense spokesman said "OSA is Japan’s newly launched grant aid scheme relative to its new National Security Strategy (NSS), released last December 2022, for bolstering the transfer of defense equipment and technology." DMS