Philippine Coast Guard to add 49 new ships by 2028 amid China tensions

THE Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday said it would have taken delivery of 49 new ships by 2028, 40 of which be funded by a French loan worth P25.8 billion and five from Japan, as it boosts patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tensions with China.

The rest will be built locally, PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan told a security forum on Thursday.

This will be the largest single purchase in the modernization of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) , Commandant he told a news briefing at the presidential palace.

The purchase, which was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board, would let them deploy two patrol boats in every Philippine district “fast enough to reach the edges of our exclusive economic zone,” he added.

The coast guard also seeks to add to its 30,000-strong manpower.

“This is a game changer for us because this will enable the coast guard to hold the position as the youngest fleet in Southeast Asia,” Mr. Gavan said. “In five years’ time we foresee that we will become the most respected and the most able coast guard.”

In a statement, the NEDA Board said the purchase, which will be funded through official development assistance from the French government, includes 40 fast patrol craft, 20 of which will be built locally.

“These patrol craft will enhance the country’s response capabilities in search and rescue operations, environmental protection, maritime law enforcement and disaster response,” it added.

The new boats will also “help deter smuggling and illegal activities while ensuring the enforcement of maritime sovereignty in critical marine areas.”

Mr. Gavan said the Philippine Coast Guard had also been given the go-signal to buy five 97-meter vessels from Japan. “Once delivered, we will have around eight large ships.”

The coast guard will start taking delivery of the ships in 2027 until 2028.

These purchases reflect the success of the PCG’s assertive transparency campaign, which has generated domestic and international support, said Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at the US-based Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

“The decision by international partners like France and Japan to assist the Philippines was motivated by the compelling visual evidence their governments saw after Manila showed it to the world,” he said in an X message.

Launched last year after the Chinese Coast Guard’s use of a military-grade laser to drive away a PCG vessel, the transparency campaign seeks to expose Chinese vessels’ aggression at sea.

China claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, including waters that are within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“A decision by a democratically elected government to devote its national resources toward improving its external security requires the support of its people, and the Philippine people have been energized to support their government because it showed them the pictures of the outrage that are occurring within their waters,” Mr. Powell said.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who took office in 2022, has pursued closer defense ties with the US and other Indo-Pacific powers.

The PCG was under the Department of National Defense before it was transferred to the Office of the President on March 30, 1998 through an order issued by the late President Fidel V. Ramos.

Mr. Ramos later transferred the PCG to the Department of Transportation and Communications, which was split into two separate agencies in 2016 through a

law signed by the Late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III.

The PCG has since been under the Transportation department.

In his message at the South China Sea dialogue, Mr. Marcos said his government was pursuing “broad public diplomacy and awareness efforts” amid foreign intrusions into Philippine waters, as he denounced “aggressive actions” in the South China Sea.

“We seek to empower our citizens to become ambassadors for our cause.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza