MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru committed “to purchase books, not arms”

Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo said Wednesday that his country's reaction to Chile's announcement of a significant military equipment purchase was to “eradicate poverty and buy more school books”.

"If Chile decides to buy armaments, we will continue purchasing more computers, more desks, more school books, our commitment is education and eradicating poverty", said President Toledo from Beijing where he's on an official visit.

This was the first official Peruvian reaction to neighbouring Chile's plan to purchase 20 to 28 F-15 fighter planes, Leopard II tanks and missile frigates, an operation involving an estimated over 400 million US dollars.

However last December Peruvian President Toledo announced a 125 million US dollars cooperation agreement with Russia for the renewal of the Air Force's transport fleet and military helicopters.

Last August Peru created a permanent fund in the national budget for the modernization of the Peruvian Armed Forces and in March announced the purchase of four Italian Type Luppo frigates.

In Chile Defence Minister Jaime Ravinet insisted that the military's shopping list was a "renewal" of equipment and not an increase.

Mr. Ravinet denied point blank that the announced purchases would create a regional "arms misbalance", as claimed by Peruvian military sources, and indicated that the time chosen for the operation was because of Chile's current financial (copper) bonanza and the need to cut the heavy costs of maintaining obsolete equipment.

"It's normal for countries to renew military equipment and this is what Chile is doing", insisted Mr. Ravinet.

In Lima the president of the retired generals and admirals associations said that Chile's purchases "misbalance the strategic stability of the region".