The Philippines has agreed to buy five coast guard patrol ships from Japan in a deal worth more than $400 million, Manila said, as the Southeast Asian country faces growing Chinese pressure in the South China Sea.
Philippines To Buy 5 Japan-made Coast Guard Ships In $400 Mn Deal
The Philippines has agreed to buy five coast guard patrol ships from Japan in a deal worth more than $400 million, Manila said, as the Southeast Asian country faces growing Chinese pressure in the South China Sea. Japan will loan the Philippines 64.38 billion yen ($413 million) to buy the five 97-metre Multi-Role Response Vessels and pay for the “development of the required support facilities”, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“This will support the PCG in improving its capabilities for maritime operations particularly in addressing transnational crimes,” the statement said, referring to the Philippine Coast Guard.
Tokyo is a top provider of overseas development assistance to the Philippines.
The Philippine Coast Guard currently has two 97-meter patrol vessels as part of a fleet seen as inadequate for patrolling waters around the vast archipelago nation. Philippine Coast Guard boats have also been fired on with water cannons by the China Coast Guard, with the latest incident happening on April 30 near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal.
Japan invaded and occupied the Philippines during World War II, but the two countries have since grown closer due to trade and investment, and more recently, to counter China’s assertiveness in the region. In recent months, its vessels have been involved in several collisions with Chinese coast guard ships around disputed reefs in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.
Last Wednesday, the Philippines and US held the annual Land Power in the Pacific (Lanpac) Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu, Hawaii, to further boost training in territorial defense capabilities. Leaders of Japan and the Philippines — both longtime allies of the United States — were in Washington last month for a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden.
