In June, days before President Rodrigo Duterte completed his six-year term, the Philippines scrapped a deal to buy 16 Russian Mi-17 military transport helicopters over fears of US sanctions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “This cancellation of this convention is mainly accelerated by the war in Ukraine. While sanctions are expected, from the United States and Western countries, it is obviously not in our interest to continue and pursue this convention,” Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters in a virtual forum. Mr Romualdez said the Chinooks would replace existing equipment used for troop movement and disaster preparedness in the Southeast Asian country. The United States was willing to make a deal on how much the Philippines would spend on the Russian helicopters, Mr. Romualdez said, adding that the deal with Washington would likely include maintenance, service and spare parts. The Philippines is still in talks with Russia to recover the $38 million down payment for the helicopters, the delivery of which was supposed to start in November next year, or 24 months after the contract was signed.
