The Chinese government turned over Thursday a batch of heavy equipment to the Philippine military units for its use in construction projects, sources from both sides said.

The equipment were handed over by Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao to Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Ricardo David in the rites held at the Armed Forces general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, in Metro Manila.

The donation, worth 172 million pesos (US$4 million), included eight graders, two loaders, three road rollers, four backhoe loaders, three dump trucks, two road wreckers, an aerial vehicle and 10 bulldozers.

The equipment was the third and fourth tranches of China's military aid to the Philippine military. The first and second tranches of the donation, worth 113 million pesos (US$2.6 million), were handed over to the AFP in 2006 and 2007.

A new agreement had been forged by the AFP and the China's People's Liberation Army on December last year, paving the way for China's future full grant of 12 more units of engineering equipment, also worth 113 million pesos.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said that the military aid from China is a testament to the friendship and cooperation between the two governments, which has been strengthened in recent years.

On behalf of the Philippine government and the AFP, Gazmin thanked the Chinese government "for the generous assistance that we shall treasure as a token of enduring friendship and cooperation between our two nations and peoples."

The Chinese aid was a "tangible testimony to the kindness and helpfulness of a great friend and neighbor," Gazmin said, adding the equipment would be of great assistance to the AFP.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2010)