The Philippines will attain a minimum credible defense posture within the term of President Aquino, which will end in 2016, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

In an interview with Philstar.com, Gazmin said that efforts to modernize the military have taken great strides the past years with heavier spending on procurement of assets.

“Kitang kita naman. Maraming nangyari na mula noon hanggang ngayon, napakarami nang nagawa,” Gazmin said Monday after Aquino’s State of the Nation Address in Batasan.

“By the time matapos ang presidente, maa-attain natin ang minimum defense posture. By his term ends, 2016,” he added.

… Justin Goldman, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said that besides physical upgrades, the Philippine government should also address bureaucratic friction between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy.