The Philippine military is now 3D-printing drones in preparation for future warfare and strengthening foreign partnerships, with Manila recently being recognised by Indo-Pacific defence ministers as a “frontliner” in keeping the region “free and open”.
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Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr told the Foreign Correspondents Association on Friday that the 3D initiative had been in place since last year, acknowledging it was still not on a large or sophisticated scale as the objective was currently for surveillance, particularly over the South China Sea.
Brawner told This Week in Asia one of the potential scenarios being tested in war games was the possibility of a Taiwan conflict, which he added was likely to be dominated by drone warfare.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
The Philippines, as an archipelagic nation with sea lanes across the hotly contested South China Sea, sees itself as being in the crosshairs of any regional unrest associated with Taiwan, host to some 200,000 overseas Filipino workers.
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