PH Navy eyes acquiring only 3 of 6 Japanese warships
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy is considering acquiring only three of six Abukuma-class Japanese destroyer warships, according to its chief Jose Maria Ambrosio Ezpeleta.
Ezpeleta disclosed this during Tuesday’s Senate Committee on Finance hearing, where Sen. JV Ejercito raised the matter while discussing the proposed budget of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“We had it inspected and we submitted the recommendation,” Ezpeleta said in response to Ejercito’s questions.
The Navy’s 41st Flag Officer-in-Command also highlighted several caveats regarding the warships, which are over 30 years old and scheduled for decommissioning in 2027.
He noted that “it’s not a guarantee” that Tokyo will transfer its destroyer escorts to Manila, citing constitutional limitations, and that the warships’ weapon systems will be removed once the transfer occurs.
Under its pacifist postwar charter, Japan also maintains a longstanding prohibition on exporting lethal weapons, with only specific exceptions.
“I mean, beggars can’t be choosers; that’s six destroyers,” Ejercito said in reaction to the disclosure.
“The six may not be all available for us, but we are, if ever, would like to get three,” Ezpeleta said.
Vietnam and Indonesia have also been named as possible destinations for the warships, Kyodo News reported.
The Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, designed for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, share characteristics with the Philippine Navy’s Jose Rizal-class frigates.
The Navy’s flagship guided-missile frigates have a standard displacement of about 2,600 tons and measure 107 meters in length, while the Abukuma-class destroyer escorts have a standard displacement of roughly 2,000 tons and are 109 meters long.
Both nations are bound by a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which eases restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment on each other’s soil.
The pact comes amid territorial disputes with Beijing, as Manila and Tokyo contend over maritime features in the West Philippine Sea and the Pinnacle (Senkaku) Islands, respectively.
Two of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) 97-meter multirole response vessels (MRRVs)—BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Melchora Aquino—were purchased from Japan and are frequently deployed to patrol the West Philippine Sea.
READ: PH Coast Guard welcomes newest vessel ‘BRP Melchora Aquino’
READ: PCG to procure 5 patrol vessels; first ship to arrive in 2027
The PCG has since procured five more 97-meter MRRVs from Japan, with the first expected to arrive in 2027. /mcm
