Facing maritime territorial issues in the west and internal insurgencies, the Philippines is in the "steady" process of restoring its armed forces to state of operational effectiveness to face a multitude of current and future threats. Despite the "notoriously slow process," the Aquino government is determined to transform the country's obsolete military into a force with "minimum credible deterrent". This policy has largely been driven by external pressure, as territorial disputes with Beijing over maritime possessions in the South China Sea continue, although the serious threat of home grown insurgency and terrorism is still looming in the background.
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