Brawner: No Filipino cadets sent to China military school

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said there were no Filipino cadets sent to a military school in China.

“Let me just clarify wala tayong pinapadala na kadete sa China, we only send cadets to four countries: the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea,” he said at a press conference during his visit to the Armed Forces Western Command in Palawan on Thursday.

(Let me just clarify, there were no cadets being sent to China. We only send cadets to four countries: the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea.)

“In fact, we have 45 Filipino cadets now studying abroad pero wala sa China (but none in China),” he added.

However, he noted that only AFP officers have been sent to China under a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation with China since 2004.

“So since 2004 nagpapadala tayo ng estudyante dun and when they come back, we ask them to submit a report so that we can assess kung kailangan pa nating ituloy ang programa,” Brawner said.

(So since 2004, we have been sending students to China and when they come back we ask them to submit a report so that we can assess if we need to continue the program.)

AFP public affairs office chief Lieutenant Colonel Enrico Ileto told GMA News Online on Friday that Brawner was referring to AFP officers when he said “students.”

Recently, several senators expressed alarm over Filipino cadets supposedly being sent to a military school in China.

Senator Raffy Tulfo said that it was a slap on the face for the Philippines, considering its challenges in addressing the supposed “bullying” of China.

It was Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, who asked Defense Undersecretary Irineo Espino if sending cadets to a Chinese military school was being encouraged or required of them.

Espino replied that they would look into the matter as he admitted he heard about it.

For its part, the National Security Council said it would look into such reports.

In the Palawan press conference, Brawner said concerned AFP officers who had studied in China gave positive feedback about their experience.

Nevertheless, Brawner said, “We respect the opinion of our good senators so pag-aaralan po natin ito, lalong-lalo na po yung pagpapadala ng estudyante at this point to China.”

(We respect the opinion of our good senators so we will study it, especially the sending of students to China at this point.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News