Philippine defence chief says the country's military buildup is not moving fast enough

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Saturday that the country is not strengthening its defences quickly enough, telling the Philippine Military Academy at its 128th founding anniversary in Baguio City that the nation can no longer afford a cautious approach to protecting its territory and sovereignty.

According to the Inquirer and Daily Tribune, Teodoro argued that ambitious national security plans should have been put in place on the ground years ago. He said the lost time could not be recovered and that the only option left was to make the present move faster, adding that the current pace was not good enough and that any further delay would be unacceptable.

He described the Philippines as being in a race and a struggle to increase its military capabilities, to widen its footprint and to improve its ability to enforce its laws across a vast maritime domain that he said the country is fighting for. The Philippines, he said, cannot be laid-back, unambitious or conservative where its territory and sovereignty are at stake.

Teodoro also acknowledged gaps in infrastructure that have held back military operations, especially in the maritime domain, the Inquirer reported. He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines was working to secure military reservations and other land for military use to ease shortfalls that affect its operations and logistics support. The paper noted that the armed forces have been shifting their focus toward external defence under the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept as tensions with China continue in the West Philippine Sea.

Much of the speech was aimed at the academy itself. Teodoro called the PMA a unique, special-purpose institution with two jobs: giving cadets a world-class education and turning them into junior officers who can be deployed with the armed forces and, in future, with the Philippine Coast Guard, according to Daily Tribune and Kuryente News. He urged cadets and future commanders to be ambitious, to overcome defeatism and to show the public a force that is ready and willing to stand up for the core values of the republic.

He said emerging technologies, new operational domains and the growing use of information as a weapon meant that both the academy and the wider armed forces had to keep adapting. The Inquirer reported that he wants the PMA to improve its curriculum, infrastructure and faculty so that it can prepare officers for the expanding missions of the armed forces. Daily Tribune said he called for an education and military system that trains leaders to anticipate, respond to and manage future threats while steering their organisations through rapid change.

Teodoro drew a line between education and training, explaining that education builds knowledge while training gives personnel the practical skills their duties require. Restating the mandate of the armed forces to protect the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity, he stressed the need for a professional, knowledgeable and highly trained force, Daily Tribune reported. He also told cadets and academy leaders to stay focused on their responsibilities and to keep a clear sense of their mission.

At the close of the ceremony, Teodoro and the academy's superintendent, Lieutenant General Michael Logico, presented awards to distinguished officers and personnel as well as to individuals and institutions that have partnered with the academy, according to the Department of National Defense as reported by Kuryente News. Teodoro also paid tribute to the academy's alumni, faculty, civilian staff and partners, Daily Tribune said.

The anniversary message frames the problem facing Manila less as a question of direction than of speed. By tying the pace of the buildup to land for bases, maritime law enforcement and the way officers are educated, the defence secretary signalled that the shift toward external defence will be judged on how quickly the military can turn plans into capability.