The Philippine military has received 80 million pesos' (1.5 million dollars') worth of heavy equipment from China to boost its civil operations, an official said in a statement carried by DPA Thursday. Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz said the equipment, which arrived on December 23, consisted of six bulldozers and six graders. "The Chinese equipment shall be used by the Corps of Engineers in their civic action projects, particularly in building roads in remote areas," he said. In 1996, China gave 40 dump trucks worth to three million dollars to the Philippines under an interest-free soft loan term payable starting on the 10th year. Defence cooperation between the Philippines and China has been strengthened over the past few years with regular visits of both countries' military officials. In May, the two countries held their first annual bilateral defence dialogue and agreed to boost military personnel exchanges for training. --SP 22 50 Local Time 19 50 GMT
