AFP surprised by Russian sub’s appearance in WPS

RARE SIGHTING Contributed photo shows the Russian Navy’s Ufa submarine surfacing on Philippine waters last Thursday. The 74-meter-long vessel is capable of firing Kalibr cruise missiles, which were used recently against Ukraine.

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday said it was surprised to spot a Russian attack submarine in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) last week, which was also its first sighting of this type of vessel in the area.

The Inquirer first reported on Monday the monitoring of a Russian Kilo II-class electric submarine that first surfaced 148 kilometers (80 nautical miles) west of Cape Calavite, Occidental Mindoro, on Nov. 28. President Marcos later described the presence of the submarine as “worrisome.”

“The worry, the concern, the alarm was on the first instance of detecting a submarine. It’s not every day that you detect a submarine in your EEZ (exclusive economic zone). It is understandable that even our men monitoring our sensors were surprised why there was a submarine,” Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said in a press briefing.

READ: Russian attack sub spotted in West PH Sea

“Previously, we have had submarines conduct port calls, but these had all the diplomatic clearances and arrangements prior to their arrival,” he added.

Slow-moving

The Philippine Navy immediately dispatched a patrol aircraft and a frigate to track the submarine’s movements after it was informed by the AFP Western Command, which has jurisdiction over the southern portion of the WPS.

“[It was] stationary, meaning to say it was not underway, it was not running. After a few hours, it was traveling at a slow speed of from three to six knots all the way up north,” according to Trinidad, which meant that the Russian submarine was unlikely to be “conducting any nefarious activities.”

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or Unclos, submarines or ships need not seek permission from the coastal state when transiting through its EEZ, Trinidad said.

The BRP Jose Rizal, one of the Philippine Navy’s most modern warships, shadowed the Russian submarine’s entire passage through the country’s EEZ up until the weekend. The underwater vessel identified itself on an initial radio inquiry as Ufa 490. It said it was headed for Vladivostok, Russia, from Malaysia, where it had participated in an exercise with the Royal Malaysian Navy.

A Russian rescue tug and a support vessel accompanied the submarine.

“The context of the situation is most likely they were there to receive fuel, to charge their batteries in as much as a Kilo-class is a diesel-electric submarine, or probably to do some minor repairs …,” Trinidad said.

He refused to speculate on whether the Russian submarine’s presence was a signal of its strong ties with China, which claims nearly the entire South China Sea.