Breaking The Habit

PH Commissions Two More Japan-Made Patrol Ships

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will get much-needed help in securing our seas as two more Japan-made patrol ships were commissioned into service on Thursday.

Chief Rear Adm. Elson Hermogino of the PCG said that the ships will be deployed to Philippine waters, which include disputed areas in the South China Sea.

“Those will be part of our deployment in the West Philippine Sea and the Benham Rise,” Hermogino said while at the ceremonial turnover at the coast guard headquarters in Manila.

He also added that the ships will each be outfitted with six 50-caliber guns. Other technology that comes with the ships are a radar with a detection range of 1,500 nautical miles, night vision cameras, and bullet-proof navigational bridges.

The two 44-meter ships that have a cruising speed of 46 kilometers per hour were built under a 10-ship supply contract awarded to Japan Marine United Corporation by the Philippines through an official development assistance loan totaling 7.37 billion pesos or 138 million dollars.

Yoshio Wada, Japan International Cooperation Agency’s representative in the Philippines, expressed at the ceremony that Japan will continue to support the PCG. In the next few years, according to Wada, two 90-meter ships will be constructed and delivered to the country from Japan.

“Maritime safety and security is a vital element of JICA and the Philippines’ development cooperation and trusted partnership,” said Wada.

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