Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. maintained that acquiring a submarine is a must in defending national sovereignty and security.
For the time being however, Teodoro said substitute capabilities can suffice in securing the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Teodoro emphasized that the Armed Forces of the Philippines will ultimately require a submarine as the country looks to broaden its operational reach in the future.
“Naturally, with submarines, I believe that there will come a time, perhaps we will be needing them when we have to secure our supply chains and the Philippine Navy evolves into an expeditionary securing force for Philippine vessels,” Teodoro said in a Tuesday interview in the podcast with maritime expert Ray Powell.
“At the present time, I believe, in the area of operations that we have in our EEZ, perhaps alternate or substitute capabilities will do,” the defense chief said.
Teodoro also underscored the need for “hybrid capabilities like drones and other unmanned weapon systems,” including unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
The Philippine Navy currently operates four T-12 Manta USVs, according to Marine Capt. Joshua Estrada, a liaison officer at the United States Embassy in Manila.
Former United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, during a visit to the Western Command headquarters in Palawan last year, said Washington would provide additional T-12s to Manila under its $500-million (P29.3 billion) foreign military financing program.
Sealight Director Ray Powell said the T-12s could be considered a substitute for submarines.
“They would be a start, as they do have some limited submersible capabilities,” Powell said.
However, Powell said the military “will need to develop a much more robust undersea force if it is going to credibly detect, monitor, and hold at risk China’s substantial manned and unmanned subsurface forces.”
In February 2024, Trinidad said the Navy needed three submarines to fulfil its mandate of protecting the maritime domain.
In 2023, President Marcos announced that the government plans to acquire a submarine, though he noted that the PN is currently focused on developing its anti-submarine capabilities.
According to Marcos, several countries, including France, have offered to manufacture submarines for the Philippines.
