Over the past few day's there have been calls to modernize, to upgrade our defense capabilities so we can attain more security. All the talk may be an illusion as dangerous as having no armed force.
Modernizing per se is not the magic amulet that saves us all. Just for illustration, lets say we modernized and got 10 state of the art tanks. Lets say we come up against an enemy that had 100 state of the art tanks. Who has the advantage? Numerically that would be the side with 100 tanks. At times though it's the side that knows how to use the stuff they have that prevails.
Try imagining Israel going up against superior numbers and winning. How about Afghanistan vs Soviet Russia? As far as I remember the Afghans didn't have tanks or planes. Instead they had a dedicated force which knew the terrain plus a whole slew of weapons they knew how to use. Knowledge trumps firepower.
Before we buy what the politicos are saying lets just stop and look first.
Defense Doctrine
What is our defense doctrine? I can think of a few politicians who would know but do all of them know? How can we judge if the equipment we are buying is the right one if we don't know how we are using it? We may not need all the latest gadgets, only the ones that suit our purpose.
Reform
I'm no soldier but my guess is we'll be of greater service to the country if we implemented reforms in the military. Find where the funds leak and plug them. Get the equipment to our soldiers. Get them better pay. Find the people selling government arms to rebels and stop them. If we were to buy more stuff let it be so our soldiers have the equipment they need instead of something for political photo ops.
We can look at providing better training facilities and methods. More training, less bleeding. If you have new equipment, it's important that you know what it does. If your opponents have new equipment, it's also important you know what it does ... to you.
Leapfrog and Customize
How many major arms manufacturers have headquarters in a tropical archipelago? There might be equipment we can't get simply because no one's really thought of our situation and created said equipment. It might actually be better to encourage local development. Of course, it would be helpful if there was less corruption and politicking. Plus you will need engineers and scientists, many of whom are leaving because there's not enough work in the country.
It's not about the Shopping
Just embarking on one modernization project won't cut it. For long term security we'll need industrial and scientific support as well. We'll likely need an ongoing program because technology will not stand still. We'll also need a political backbone. Let's make sure the military funds go where its supposed to go and punish those that compromise the nation's security. Lets try to think longer term instead of just one shopping spree.
Some places you might want to see:
ps: the Philippine Navy site has an easy to find links page to the sites of the other military branches.
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