(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The Philippines has announced a landmark decision to cease new arms acquisitions from Israel, a move driven by the mounting civilian death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza that has now claimed more than 65,000 lives.

Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro made the declaration in Manila’s parliament yesterday, stating unequivocally that the Philippines will no longer enter into fresh contracts with Israeli arms manufacturers.

The decision comes after sustained political pressure on the Marcos administration to cut military ties with Israel, citing international outrage over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.

Teodoro, addressing lawmakers at the House Committee on Appropriations budget hearing, confirmed that while no new contracts are being signed, the Philippine Army remains bound to complete deliveries from previously signed agreements.

“Right now, it’s just the continuing of past contracts. We have no new contracts with any Israel-based companies. Our issue is to secure our supply chains with them. Right now that they are involved in a conflict, I myself won’t be comfortable that they will put a contract on par with their own needs,” he told Congress, according to ABS-CBN.

The Defence Secretary emphasized that the war in Gaza has highlighted the vulnerability of Manila’s dependence on foreign suppliers for critical military hardware.

“It was a lesson learned for us also in who we contract with, how we contract with, and what we write down on a contract. So, right now, we’re in no position to decommission the capabilities, and because of the arrangement that was made before, which was probably good at the time, we’re now stuck with it,” Teodoro explained.

The Philippines has historically been one of Israel’s most significant defence customers, accounting for 8.1% of Israeli arms exports, according to a March report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

This makes Manila the third-largest client of the Israeli defence industry, after India (34%) and the United States (13%), underscoring the gravity of the current suspension.

The Philippines’ close defence relationship with Israel peaked during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who in 2018 publicly declared that Israeli firms would be the country’s primary suppliers of military hardware.

“I instructed my military personnel that in the field of military equipment and weapons, there is only one country to buy from, and that is Israel,” Duterte proclaimed during a state visit to Israel, standing alongside then-President Reuven Rivlin.

Under Duterte’s tenure, Manila acquired a wide range of Israeli defence systems, including the Rafael Spyder air defence system, Elbit’s Sabrah light tanks, Shaldag V-class fast patrol boats, and Hermes UAVs.

The Philippine Army and Navy also incorporated Israeli-made Spike-NLOS precision-guided missiles, Galil rifles, and TAR-21 bullpup assault rifles into their arsenals, cementing a deep operational and logistical partnership.

By halting new contracts, the Philippines risks creating gaps in its ongoing military modernization program, which had relied heavily on Israeli platforms to strengthen its defensive posture in the South China Sea.

Analysts note that Manila’s decision reflects both a moral stance and a pragmatic concern, as Israel’s defence industries are currently prioritizing domestic needs to replenish stocks consumed in the Gaza campaign.

There are also reports that some Filipino defence officials have expressed frustration with Israel’s reluctance to support Manila’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea against China’s expansive territorial assertions.

For Manila, this latest move signals a potential realignment in its procurement strategies, with alternative suppliers such as South Korea, Türkiye, and even European firms likely to benefit from the gap left by Israel.

The decision also raises broader questions about the resilience of the Philippines’ defence supply chains and its ability to maintain operational readiness without Israeli systems that have become critical to its doctrine.

From a geo-strategic perspective, the Philippines’ distancing from Israel may reverberate across the Asia-Pacific security landscape, as Manila balances between U.S. alliance commitments, ASEAN diplomacy, and its own modernization imperatives.

With Gaza’s civilian death toll fueling a global backlash against Israeli arms sales, Manila’s pivot is both a reflection of domestic political accountability and a recognition that military procurement cannot be divorced from ethical and strategic considerations.

READ: Philippines to Acquire Additional 12 ATMOS 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzers from Israel

Philippines’ Deepening Reliance on Israeli Weapons

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has, over the past five years, significantly deepened its reliance on Israeli-made weapons systems, cementing Israel’s place as one of Manila’s primary defence partners in a period of rapid regional militarization.

This procurement drive, executed under the Revised AFP Modernization Program, has brought in heavy artillery, light tanks, fast attack naval craft, and advanced unmanned aerial systems, reflecting Manila’s urgent push to close long-standing capability gaps across land, sea, and air domains.

Among the most visible acquisitions are the ATMOS 155mm self-propelled howitzers from Israel’s Elbit Systems, with an initial batch of 12 units delivered to the Philippine Army in December 2021, enhancing its long-range precision firepower for the first time in decades.

The ATMOS system, mounted on a truck chassis, offers a firing range of up to 40 kilometers with extended-range projectiles, enabling shoot-and-scoot tactics that are vital in archipelagic terrain vulnerable to counter-battery fire and mobility constraints.

In 2025, Manila moved to double this capability with plans to acquire another 12 ATMOS units, underlining how critical this Israeli artillery has become to the country’s deterrence and fire-support doctrine in the face of rising tensions in the South China Sea.

Equally transformative for the Philippine Army has been the induction of Sabrah light tanks, also supplied by Elbit Systems, which represent the country’s first real armor capability in decades, deployed to provide mobile firepower in both urban and island environments.

The Sabrah, armed with a 105mm rifled gun, balances protection and mobility, offering sufficient lethality against light armored threats and insurgent strongholds while remaining lighter and more deployable than traditional main battle tanks ill-suited for Philippine terrain.

On the maritime front, the Philippine Navy has commissioned multiple Acero-class gunboats, based on Israel Shipyards’ Shaldag V design, with deliveries in 2022, 2023, and 2024 that have added speed, littoral dominance, and missile strike options to Manila’s coastal defence posture.

Some Acero-class vessels have been fitted with Rafael Spike-NLOS missiles, granting the Navy precision strike capabilities of up to 32 kilometers against hostile ships and littoral targets, a major force multiplier in contested maritime zones.

The vessels, also armed with remote weapon stations and autocannons, have already been deployed in patrol missions around the West Philippine Sea, sending a clear signal of Manila’s intent to maintain presence and deterrence against Chinese incursions.

The air and surveillance domain has likewise seen a boost through the acquisition of Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 unmanned aerial systems, with deliveries completed in 2020, giving the Philippine Air Force its first medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones.

These Israeli drones have been used for maritime domain awareness, counter-insurgency operations, and border surveillance, extending the AFP’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) reach across its archipelagic expanse.

The AFP has also integrated smaller tactical Israeli drones such as Skylark and Thor systems, intended for real-time intelligence support at the battalion and company level, enhancing situational awareness in counter-insurgency and coastal monitoring operations.

Over the same period, Israeli-origin rifles and small arms such as the Galil ACE and TAR-21 assault rifles have continued to circulate among AFP units, sustaining a long-running relationship in infantry weapons supply.

The acquisitions also included Israeli naval and missile systems, notably Shaldag fast patrol boats and Spike precision missiles, which further augment the Philippines’ layered deterrence, even as Manila grapples with limited defence budgets.

In addition, the AFP has acquired various Rafael Spike missile variants, including the Spike-ER and Spike-NLOS, providing precision strike capability for both ground and naval platforms against armored vehicles, bunkers, and hostile vessels.

These missile systems have been integrated into both land-based coastal defence batteries and naval patrol craft, forming a layered strike capability critical to sea denial strategies in the West Philippine Sea.

Collectively, these Israeli systems have allowed the AFP to bridge multiple long-standing gaps: precision artillery, mobile armor, littoral strike, aerial surveillance, and layered air defence, giving Manila a far more modernized force posture.

READ: Philippines Receives More “Sabrah” Light Tanks from Israel.

Israeli Military Advisers Quietly Guiding the Philippine Armed Forces

Israeli military advisers have long maintained a low-profile presence in the Philippines, shaping doctrine, training, and modernization projects under the framework of bilateral defence cooperation.

In March 2023, Brigadier General Efraim Defrin, head of the Israel Defense Forces’ International Cooperation Division, visited AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, underscoring the depth of military-to-military ties.

During the visit, Israeli officers engaged Philippine commanders in discussions on doctrine, counterterrorism, cyber defence, and logistics, highlighting Israel’s role as more than just an arms supplier.

The cooperation is anchored in a standing memorandum of understanding that covers training, intelligence exchange, and capacity building, creating channels for Israeli advisers to guide AFP reforms.

Philippine media reports suggest that Israeli specialists have shared expertise in urban warfare, counter-insurgency, and unmanned systems, fields where the Israel Defense Forces are globally recognized.

The AFP’s integration of Israeli hardware such as Hermes drones, ATMOS howitzers, Sabrah tanks, and Spike missiles has been matched by Israeli advisory input on doctrine and sustainment.

Israeli advisers are also believed to have contributed to littoral defence training, reflecting Manila’s growing reliance on Shaldag-derived Acero-class gunboats in contested waters.

The advisory role has been largely quiet, avoiding publicity, yet it has shaped the way the AFP deploys its new systems and adjusts operational tactics.

However, recent political developments have cast a shadow, with Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro announcing the halt of new Israeli arms contracts amid international outrage over the Gaza war.

Critics argue that advisory cooperation risks entangling the Philippines in Israel’s conflicts, while supporters contend that AFP gains invaluable expertise from the partnership.

For Manila, Israeli advisers provide access to combat-tested experience in asymmetric warfare and homeland defence that few other countries can match.

Yet as human rights concerns mount globally, the future visibility and scope of Israeli advisory roles in the Philippines may face both domestic and diplomatic scrutiny.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA