President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said his administration is “very serious” about upgrading the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force with the situation that the country is facing now over the West Philippine Sea.

Addressing the troops at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Friday, Marcos said the tension in the disputed area of WPS is “not cooling down.”

“The modernization program of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is certainly a response to the growing complication of the situation that we are facing in our region,” Marcos said.

“Unfortunately, we cannot say that this situation is cooling down. Perhaps the best that we can hope for is to keep it as it is and hopefully continue to lessen the tension,” the President added.

Because of these factors, Marcos stated that his administration is focused on maintaining the country’s military modernization and enhancing the service members’ abilities.

He added that the government is dedicated to providing all the necessary tools to fulfill the military’s mission that the rest of the Philippines needed to protect the country.

Marcos examined six C-130 aircraft that had returned to the nation following maintenance in Portugal before he met with Air Force personnel.

The PAF assets were bought in 2016 for $55.60 million through the Excess Defense Items program between the Philippines and the US.

The President said the Philippines’ partners, including the United States and Portugal, would support the nation in its attempts to modernize the military.