No formal offer yet from Japan for Abukuma-class ships – Navy

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese government has not formally offered the Abukuma-class destroyer escorts to the Philippines, Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez said on Tuesday.

Martinez clarified that so far, Tokyo has only invited officials to conduct a joint visual inspection of the used destroyer escorts. 

“However, I would just like to highlight that it has not, according to one of the Japanese officials, it has not yet been offered to the Philippine Navy nor to the Department of National Defense (DND),” she said in a regular press briefing.

READ: Teodoro on transfer of Japanese destroyers: Depends if they fit fleet

The spokesperson also noted that so far, the DND has yet to make a decision with the acquisition.

“So that is one thing that needs to come first before the DND would make the decision,” she said. “An offer should be made first by the government of Japan.”

Former Navy spokesperson Capt. John Percie Alcos said characteristics of Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, designed for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, are also similar to that of navy’s Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigates.

Navy’s Jose Rizal-class frigates have about 2,600 ton standard displacement and are 107 meters long, while Abukuma-class destroyer escorts have about 2,000-ton standard displacement with length of 109 meters.

According to Alcos, the destroyer escorts, built between 1988 to 1991, are set to be decommissioned in 2027.

The Navy is only eyeing to acquire three out of six of the Abukuma-class ships, according to its chief Vice Admiral Jose Maria Ambrosio Ezpeleta.

During a recent Senate panel briefing, Ezpeleta noted that “it’s not a guarantee” that Tokyo will transfer its destroyer escorts to Manila, citing constitutional limitations.

He further noted that the warship’s weapon systems will be taken away once the transfer takes place.

In line with its pacifist postwar charter, Japan also has longstanding prohibition of exporting lethal weapons, subject to specific exceptions.

Manila and Tokyo have a Reciprocal Access Agreement which eases restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment on each other’s soil. 

This pact emerged as Manila and Tokyo have territorial disputes with Beijing over the maritime features in the West Philippine Sea and Pinnacle (Senkaku) Islands. 

Two of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) 97-meter multirole response vessel (MRRV)—BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Melchora Aquino—were purchased from Japan, and both of them are often deployed to patrol the West Philippine Sea.

The PCG has since procured another five 97-meter MRRVs from Japan, the first of which are expected to arrive in 2027. /apl