The
“As far as we are
now looking at it, there will be a positive action for getting a 3rd Del Pilar
frigate as we now call the Hamilton Class cutters,” said Alano on Monday, April
14.
Decommissioned US
Coast Guard ship BRP Gregorio Del Pilar and its twin ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz are
currently the Philippine Navy’s most capable
warships. Both have been deployed to the patrol the West
Philippines Sea
(South China Sea ).
The Philippines acquired them from the US in 2012 and
2013, respectively, through the Excess Defense Articles program. The Philippines
only had to pay for the refurbishment of the decommissioned ships.
The plan to
acquire a 3rd cutter was previously scrapped.
The Philipine
military earlier estimated that it needs at least 6 ships to patrol the
country's long coastline. Alano said the number is constantly being evaluated.
He also cited existing cooperation agreement with the navies of neighboring
ASEAN countries.
Bidding for 2
brand new frigates worth P18 billion (US$400 million) is also ongoing. (READ: Wanted: Consultant for PH Navy’s P18.9 billion warships deal)
PH wish
list
The Philippines and the US
are finalizing a new military deal that will increase the presence of American
troops in the Philippines
and give them wider access to military bases.
This comes at a
time when the Philippines is
locked in a bitter maritime dispute with China over the West
Philippine Sea .
The draft agreement has been
submitted to MalacaƱang. Talk is rife that it will be signed during the visit
of US
President Barack Obama later this month, April 28-29.
Philippine
Ambassador to US Jose Cuisia Jr said he is hopeful that the new agreement will
also mean “we can get more equipment in the future.”
“The Armed Forces
must decide what are the things they would like to get. I have not seen the
wish list of the AFP,” said Cuisia.
The AFP is
constantly evaluating its requests for assets. It was previously looking at
F-16 fighter jets from the US
but changed its mind because of maintenance costs.
“You recall we
were looking at F-16s before. The AFP decided not to. Why? Because the
maintenance costs are very high,” Cuisia said.
The military
instead opted to acquire for P18.9 billion a squadron of FA-50 lead in fighter
jets from South Korea ’s
Korea Aerospace Industry (KAI). (READ: PH Air Force a joke no more, acquires fighter jets)
The Philippines and
KAI signed the contract last month, March 28. It has been almost a decade since
the Philippine Air Force retired the last of its US-designed F-5 fighters in
2005.
The FA-50 has
minimum fighter capabilities. Its design is derived largely from the F-16
meaning it won’t be a problem if the Philippines in the future gets the
money to upgrade to the more expensive jet.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/55631-philippine-navy-hamilton-class-cutter
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