Philipines | Business Upturn

Military helicopter finds missing small plane in N Philippines

United News of India (UNI) — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 09:28:54 +0000

Manila, Dec 5 : A military helicopter on Tuesday spotted the wreckage of a missing small plane with two people on board, including the pilot, in Isabela province in the northern Philippines, a provincial spokesperson said.

Joshua Hapinat of the Isabela Incident Management Team said the Philippine Air Force helicopter could not get close enough to the wreckage, which was nestled deep in the mountain forest, to determine the condition of the plane’s pilot and the lone passenger.

The province will dispatch a team to the crash site.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said the single-engine light Piper aircraft took off at 9:39 a.m. local time on Nov. 30 at the Cauayan City Airport in Isabela, heading for Palanan, a coastal town east of the city, when it went missing.

Philippines shows interest in LCA Tejas and ALH Helicopters amid South China Sea conflict

Pranay Maniar — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 13:14:15 +0000

As the tensions in the South China Sea brew with China, the Philippines has made an active attempt in modernizing its armed forces to counter threats despite having a defence treaty signed with the US.

Earlier this year, India and the Philippines signed a $375 million contract to purchase three batteries of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile system. For an anti-ship and coastal defence role. This deal became India’s largest export deal.

The Philippines has shown interest in purchasing Advanced Light Helicopters and LCA Tejas to bolster their armed forces. The ALH is a cost-effective and capable option for the Filipino Armed forces. As it is best suited for marine reconnaissance and surveillance. As well as it has a long-range electro-optical sensor and a radar. Further, it can carry two torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. The ALH is used by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard for the same missions.

Philippines wants Make in India

The Filipino Airforce has expressed interest in procuring the LCA Tejas for roles like area defence and interception. Earlier reports suggested that Filipino Airforce had dropped LCA Tejas and were looking for western alternatives like the American F-16 or the Swedish Saab Gripen.

However, the Island’s airforce rejected these claims and continued to express interest in the LCA. Moreover, Tejas proves as a perfect aircraft for the Island Nation’s airforce as it is a small, compact and cost-effective system that has multirole capabilities.

Going through a cash crunch, the Philippines may not be able to procure Tejas’ western alternatives. Thus the LCA Tejas turns out to be the most suitable option. Along with this, Tejas will be used for roles like interception or area defence, unlike the F-16 or Gripen. Which are used for more complex roles like air superiority, electronic warfare or escorting.

MoS Rajkumar Singh pays courtesy call on new Philippines President

United News of India (UNI) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 09:35:34 +0000

New Delhi, July 1: Minister of State for External Affairs (MOS) Rajkumar Ranjan Singh attended the inauguration of new Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr in Manila as the Special Envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During a courtesy call on President Marcos today, MoS Singh handed over a letter of felicitation from President Ram Nath Kovind.

In his letter, President Kovind congratulated President Marcos on assuming office as the President of the Philippines and expressed his confidence that under President Marcos’ able leadership, the India-Philippines partnership would expand and strengthen further.

During the courtesy call, MOS noted the recent dynamism in bilateral ties. And reiterated India’s commitment to work with the new Government of Republic of the Philippines. In further deepening the bilateral partnership. Encompassing our respective developmental aspirations and national security objectives, an official statement said.

In a tweet, the MoS said:

“Called on President of the Philippines H.E. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. @bongbongmarcos today and handed over letter of felicitations from Honourable President of India @rashtrapatibhvn.

“Discussions on furthering strengthening India-Philippines bilateral ties based on shared priorities.”

MOS also interacted with representatives of the vibrant Indian community in the Philippines during the visit.we

“Try on me first”: Philippines President takes Russian COVID-19 vaccine challenge

News Desk — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 06:25:18 +0000

Rodrigo Duterte a Philippine President has accepted Russia’s offer of its Coronavirus vaccine, assisting to take take the first shot as a gesture of trust and gratitude. Duterte said in a briefing on Monday night that “As the vaccine arrives, I will be injecting it to myself in public. Testing on me first will be fine with me”. the President also stated that the Philippines is ready to assist Russia in clinical trials and local production.

According to the Department of Health the Philippines has 136,638 confirmed Coronavirus cases, the highest in South Asia and on Monday it reported new 6,958 infections, the largest daily increase. Last month Duterte also asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help Philippines to get priority access to COVID-19 vaccine.

Report claims that early as this week, Russian Government plans to start distributing door to door vaccine for civilian use only after vaccine is developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute. The Health Ministry said mass vaccinations could begin by october.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said members of “risk groups,” such as medical workers, may be offered the vaccine this month. He didn’t clarify whether they would be part of the Phase 3 study that is said to be completed after vaccine receives, ” conditional approval.”

But some experts, including Dr. Anthony Fausi, the top U.S infectious disease specialist, raise question on the fast-track approach. He said that “I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing a vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone, because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing I think is problematic at best”.