Philippine Navy looks to old and new vessels to beef up its fleet
JS Tone is a Japanese navy Abukuma-class destroyer and the Philippines is interested in taking some of the ships in this class. (Photo: author)
The Philippines has turned to regional neighbours Japan and South Korea in a effort to boost its naval fleet with new and ex-Japanese ships. The bonds between the countries is an acknowledgment of the rising power of China and the continued manoeuvres of the Asian giant throughout the region.
The Philippines is eyeing the procurement of around five second-hand Abukuma-class destroyer escorts from Japan in an effort to supplement new warships under construction by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea.
Following an invitation from Japan’s Ministry of Defence, the Philippine Navy (PN) will soon perform a joint visual inspection of the six ships of the Abukuma class. The possibility of transferring these well-armed vessels had earlier been discussed by Japanese and Philippine officials on the sidelines of June’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
The PN said in a statement: “This planned inspection forms part of exploratory discussions
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