THE Philippine Navy is poised to beef up its fleet with the forthcoming acquisition of two more Corvette warships and six offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) under the military’s modernization program.
“We have more on the pipeline, two more Corvettes and six OPVs,” Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippines Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a broadcast interview.
Trinidad disclosed that the new vessels would cost $35 billion or more than P2 trillion earmarked for the “Re-Horizon 3” or Phase 3 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program.
“This is not a one-shot deal. It doesn’t end there. This is a continuing program to develop our defense capability,” Trinidad said, adding that the modernization program has various aspects, including cyber, command and control, sea, air, and land capabilities.
Earlier on, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. announced that President Marcos has some changes in Horizon 3 of the modernization program.
In 2021, the Department of National Defense signed a P28-billion contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea for the acquisition of two brand new Corvettes for the Philippine Navy.
The procurement plans of the military come amid strained relations with China which claims almost the entire South China Sea including the West Philippine Sea and other portions claimed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.