MANILA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Philippines has asked the United States (US), its closest security partner, to give it at least a squadron of second-hand F-16 fighters to help upgrade its territorial defences, the foreign secretary said on Wednesday.
The Philippines has no air power to speak of, with its 40-year-old F-5A/Bs fighter jets retired from service several years ago. It has no bombers or surveillance aircraft and still flies Vietnam War-era UH-1H helicopters.
'We are just trying to restore our capability as it was before,' Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.
He said he hoped the fighters would be acquired through excess defence articles, a US military aid programme.
