Philippines to get frigates, gunboats, helicopters as South China Sea tension simmers

From InterAksyon (Dec 19): Philippines to get frigates, gunboats, helicopters as South China Sea tension simmers

 
BRP Gregorio del Pilar. FILE PHOTO BY BERNARD TESTA

The Philippines aims to buy two frigates, two helicopters, and three gunboats for deployment in the South China Sea where a territorial dispute with China has lent urgency to the need to bolster forces, a Philippine navy officer said earlier this week.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, rejecting claims to parts of it by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

The confrontation between the Philippines and China has been particularly tense since April 2012 when China seized a rocky outcrop known as the Scarborough Shoal which is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas as well as fisheries resources.

"The events in the West Philippine Sea actually gave some urgency on the acquisition," Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad, head of the Philippine Navy's weapons system, told reporters Wednesday.

The Philippines has embarked on a 15-year, 90-billion peso ($2 billion) modernization program to improve its capability to defend its maritime borders.

The procurement list announced on Wednesday will be bought with 39 billion pesos from that budget.

The government aimed to sign contracts early next year for the new warships, Taccad said on board the navy's most powerful warship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a former US coastguard cutter.

China has been reclaiming land in various parts of the Spratlys islands and appears to be constructing airstrips and ports in five reefs to gain full control of them.

The Philippines, a close US ally, has brought an international arbitration case against China, seeking clarification on its entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China has refused to take part in the arbitration. A ruling is expected late next year.

Vietnam recently submitted its position to the arbitration tribunal, drawing an angry response from China.

South Korea, Spain, and France had submitted tenders for two stealth, missile-guided frigates worth 18 billion pesos while Italy and Indonesia are bidding for two anti-submarine warfare helicopters, Taccad said.

Indonesia won contracts for two strategic sealift vessels and will deliver the first ship in early 2016. Taiwan and five other shipyards are competing for three missile-capable multi-purpose attack craft.

Coastal radars will be supplied by the United States.

($1 = 44.7200 pesos)

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/101520/philippines-to-get-frigates-gunboats-helicopters-as-south-china-sea-tension-simmers