The Philippines took possession of the first of two corvette-class warships with “advanced weapons and radar systems” on Tuesday as it faces growing pressure from Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arrival of the 3,200-ton BRP Miguel Malvar is part of a two-ship deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its sister ship, the BRP Diego Silang, was formally launched in Ulsan, South Korea, last month but has yet to begin the journey to the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corvettes are small, fast warships mainly used to protect other vessels from attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arrival of the ship marked “a critical step toward developing a self-reliant and credible defense posture”, the Philippine defence department said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling its assertion has no merit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“(The) Miguel Malvar is here today not only to serve as a deterrent and protector of our waters but also as an important component in joint and combined operations” with allies, Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro said at a Subic Bay naval base ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal for the two ships was first unveiled in 2021, five years after Hyundai Heavy Industries had won a contract to build two new frigates for the Philippine Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military said last month that the two corvettes would “significantly enhance the country’s naval capabilities amid growing security challenges in the West Philippine Sea”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard separately welcomed the donation of 20 Australian surveillance drones its commander said could extend its vessels’ coverage area by a “significant distance”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using drones will “save fuel and it will be less risky for our people”, Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan said at a ceremony in coastal Bataan province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Philippines has been deepening ties with allies and more aggressively pushing back on Beijing’s sweeping South China Sea claims since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In December, Manila said it planned to acquire the US mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing warned such a purchase could spark a regional “arms race”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, the United States said it had approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, though Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Philippines took possession of the first of two corvette-class warships with “advanced weapons and radar systems” on Tuesday as it faces growing pressure from Beijing in the disputed South China Sea. The arrival of the 3,200-ton BRP Miguel Malvar is part of a two-ship deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021. Its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":81420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8121,116,12054,8123,114],"tags":[12021,8074,8139,13449,13321,11872,12349,13448,13450],"class_list":["post-81423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china","category-pacific","category-politics","category-usa-en","category-world","tag-asia-2","tag-australia-3","tag-china-en","tag-conflicts-2","tag-military-2","tag-pacific-3","tag-philippines-2","tag-skorea","tag-tension-2"],"yoast_head":"\n