Navy admits new cutters not warships

From the Manila Standard Today (Aug 9): Navy admits new cutters not warships

THE two 46-year-old cutters that the Philippines acquired from the US Coast Guard are not warships but offshore patrol vessels, but the Navy will explore all possibilities to equip them with sophisticated weapons, Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano said Wednesday.

“This is part of our upgrade capability,” Alano said.

“It [the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, one of the cutters] has naval guns, but for it to perform its job we’re looking at providing it with greater capabilities.”

Alano made his statement even as waterfront sources said two US warships, including the USNS Flint that rescued 86 Filipino fishermen at the height of Typhoon Kading on Oct. 15, 1978, would be arriving in Subic this week.

The USNS Flint, a Kilauea-Class ammunition ship, will anchor in Subic on Aug. 9 for a four-day port call. This warship provides replenishment of all types of ordnance and frequently assists in the transfer of ammunition between weapons storage and maintenance facilities worldwide.

The other warship, the USNS Pecos, a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler, will be berthing in Subic on Aug. 9 for a three-day visit.

Meanwhile, the US Navy dispatched more than 220 Seabees on Aug. 6 for a six-month deployment in the Pacific including the Philippines.

In his article posted on the Internet by the US Pacific Fleet, Petty Officer First Class Chris Fahey said Seabees staff from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 will split into nine groups to perform critical construction projects in remote island areas such as Timor-Leste, Tonga, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Alano on Tuesday joined President Benigno Aquino III in welcoming the BRP Ramon Alcaraz in Subic.

The only weapons the ship has are a 76mm gun and a couple of 25mm bushmaster gun systems.

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the first cutter that the Navy acquired from the US in 2011, has no weapons except its 76mm, 50mm and 60mm guns.

The government bought both cutters for more than P1 billion under the terms and conditions set by the US Foreign Military Sales, which requires approval from the US Congress in case the Navy wants to install sophisticated weapons on them.

Those acquisitions boosted the Navy’s ability to patrol the areas in the South China Sea that China has been claiming as its own.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/08/08/navy-admits-new-cutters-not-warships/