Philippine Navy News

China's coastguard said it had taken measures against Philippine vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday, while the Philippines decried the moves, including the use of water cannons, as "irresponsible and provocative".China's actions led to "significant damage" and injury to personnel on a civilian boat hired to resupply troops, the Philippine task force on the South China Sea said in a statement.The incident occurred in the Second Thomas Shoal and Spratly Islands waters, according to the Chinese coastguard.

A fire that broke out Thursday aboard the cargo ship Ken off the Philippines has been extinguished, the Philippine Coast Guard said.The vessel, owned by Pherwin Shipping Corp., reportedly caught fire near Castilla Anchorage Area in Sorsogon at around 11 a.m. local time.The Coast Guard said it coordinated with the Philippine Navy and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for joint search and rescue and firefighting operations.According to the eight crewmembers on board, the fire started in the vessel's mess hall. No injuries were reported.

China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship - a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost - from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing's earlier demand.Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.China's embassy in Manila…

On 29 June, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. assumed office as the eighth President of the World Maritime University (WMU). Appointed by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), who also serves as Chancellor of the University, President Mejia assumes the role of Chief Executive Officer, overseeing and directing the academic programmes, operations and administration of the University. Professor Mejia is the first President from Asia and the first President who is a graduate of WMU.Regarding his appointment…

Hensoldt UK won two contracts from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to supply Kelvin Hughes Mk11 SharpEye navigation radars to the Philippine Navy.The six 2,400-ton Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and two 3,200-ton Corvettes are currently being built at HHI and will be delivered over the next four years.The SharpEye Mk11 radars are approved by the IMO and are installed in conjunction with an integrated navigation bridge system. The radars will provide enhanced navigation and surface…

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has won an order for six sets of controllable pitch propeller systems from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries for installation in six new 94-meter offshore patrol vessels for the Philippine Navy.Each propulsion set will consist of twin Kongsberg Kamewa Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) 86 A/5 D-B systems, as well as shaft lines, hydraulic power units, local operating panels, and accessories. The first shipset will be delivered in August 2024.The six new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are part of a major upgrade to Philippine naval capacity.

The Philippines and the United States are discussing conducting joint coast guard patrols, including in the South China Sea, a Manila official said on Monday.With overlapping sovereign claims in the strategic waterway, the Philippines has ramped up rhetoric against what it describes as China's "aggressive activities" in the South China Sea, which has also become a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operation.Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) spokesperson on South China Sea issues…

A Bangladeshi flagged bulk carrier was approached by suspected attackers off the coast of the Philippines on Wednesday.The ReCAAP ISC said it received information from the Philippine Coast Guard about the incident involving Akij Pearl off Sibutu Island, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines.While the bulk carrier was underway, an unidentified speed boat with three perpetrators on board attempted to board the ship at about 10:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The master reported the incident to the Philippine Navy Littoral Monitoring Station (LMS).

The latest Philippine Navy frigate built by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), BRP Jose Rizal, departed for the Philippines carrying masks and other quarantine supplies.The 2,600-ton frigate, with maximum speed of 25 knots, features the Philippine Navy’s first operation of guided missiles and torpedoes.The new ship set sail to Subic port in the Philippines following a sail-off ceremony held by HHI on Monday. The builder said the delivery comes four months ahead of the…

The littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) departed Singapore Nov. 4 after completing a 14-month rotational deployment to Southeast Asia. During the deployment, the ship and crew operated with navies of 16 partner nations, participated in 11 multilateral and bilateral exercises, and made 10 strategic port visits across the region. "The rotational deployment of USS Coronado demonstrated the relevance of LCS as a platform tailor made for the dynamic and congested sea lanes, straits and archipelagos of South and Southeast Asia, providing flexible options and tactical advantages," said Rear Adm Don Gabrielson, Commander, Task Force 73. "We made tremendous strides in a challenging, forward deployed environment and the team is already applying lessons learned to future deployments in 2018.

Exercise LUMBAS is an annual bi-lateral exercise between the Australia and the Philippines, and is being undertaken concurrently to the Royal Australian Navy’s visit to the region. The long standing and close working relationship between Australia and the Philippines was reinforced with amphibious giant, HMAS Adelaide hosting a visit and capability briefing to participants. Royal Australian Navy, Philippine Navy and other Philippine Government Agencies aim to develop and enhance procedures for the conduct of maritime support operations and maritime interdiction operation throughout the Philippines as a result. HMA Ships Adelaide and Darwin were in the Philippines as part of a joint task group deployment to the region focussed on international engagement.

The recent visit to the Philippines, by two Australian Navy ships of the Indo-Pacific Task Group has significantly reinforced the strong defence relationship between Australia and the archipelago. Led by HMAS Adelaide in company with HMAS Darwin, both ships were welcomed to the Port of Manila by the Philippines Navy for a full day of engagements including the visit by the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Australian Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin. The Task Group later sailed to Subic Bay for a four-day visit, where both ships received over several hundred visitors eager to view the new capabilities the Australian Defence Force had on offer.

The U.S. and Philippine navies will participate in the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama June 19-25 in the vicinity of Cebu. Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama is designed to enhance the complexity and diversity of training opportunities, while strengthening the longstanding alliance between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines. The exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness. "The training we will perform over the next week will provide excellent opportunities to deepen our long-time maritime partnership with the Philippine Navy," said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander, Task Force 73.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has signed a contract to build two 2,600 ton frigates with the Department of National Defense, Republic of the Philippines. The frigates, scheduled to be delivered from 2020, will be a smaller light combatant and successor to the Incheon class frigate now in active service for ROKN, and tailored to the requirements of the Philippine Navy with an optimized range of good marine standards under rules from Lloyd Register. The 107 meter frigates to be propelled with CODAD (Combined Diesel and Diesel) propulsion system with maximum speed of 25knots can cover a 4…

POSCO Daewoo has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to supply shipbuilding materials worth US$150 million to Penataran Angkatan Laut (PT PAL), Indonesia’s largest state-run shipbuilder, according to a report in Business Korea. Under the contract, the Korean trading company will supply engines and other parts necessary for shipbuilding, and its partner PT PAL is going to build 10 patrol boats and one combat support ship with the provided materials before delivering them to Indonesian ministries including the Indonesian Navy and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The 11 ships will be taken over by the Indonesian government once they are built.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Thursday accused China of breaking a U.S.-brokered deal between the two nations on the Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited rocky outcrop in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass every year. Beijing seized control of Scarborough Shoal, near the main Philippine island of Luzon, in June 2012, following a three-month standoff after a Philippine Navy vessel tried to arrest Chinese fishermen found illegally hauling giant clams there.

Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine  have arrived to the major Philippine port of Subic, , the first in 15 years, to uphold “peace and stability” in the region, the Philippine Navy have said. The port of Subic is located in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea water routes. The training submarine Oyashio, accompanied by the destroyers Ariake and Setogiri, made the  port call at Subic Bay, home of a former U.S. naval base, ahead of planned open sea drills. Manila is seeking to strengthen ties with Tokyo as tensions mount over the disputed waterway, almost all of which is claimed by China. Some 500 Japanese personnel, including 55 officer candidates, are taking part in the confidence-building exercise.

Following a visit aboard Philippine naval ship BRP Gregorio Del Pilar on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said the American government plans to transfer two ships to the Philippine Navy, bolstering what Obama called an “ironclad commitment” to the defense of treaty ally the Philippines. Obama said the two vessels – a Hamilton-Class Coast Guard Cutter and research ship – are part of the U.S. effort to increase maritime security assistance to its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, where tensions with China have heated up over recent years.

The INS Sahyadri, a Shivalik-class stealth frigate, of Indian Navy arrived in Manila on Sunday for a four-day goodwill visit to the country. It is docked at the South Harbor. The warship is likely to remain in Manila till November 4 for extensive interaction with the Philippines Navy before it continues into the North West Pacific region as part of India's Act East policy. The visit of INS Sahyadri, an indigenously built warship of the Shivalik class, is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing inter-operability between navies of India and the Philippines, said a government statement. Commanded by Captain Kunal Singh Rajkumar, the warship will also conduct interoperability exercises and search and rescue procedures with the Philippines Navy.

China hit back on Monday at U.S. criticism that it restricts navigation and overflights in the South China Sea amid a festering marine territorial dispute with some of its neighbours. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.. Freedom of overflights and navigation doesn't mean allowing foreign warships and military jets to violate other countries' sovereignty and security, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Reuters on Monday, after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused China of restricting such movements in the region last week.

Filipino fishermen found several buoys with Chinese markings near the disputed Scarborough Shoal and towed the devices back to shore northwest of the capital, Manila, Philippines officials said on Sunday. China seized control of the rocky outcrop in the South China Sea in 2012 after a three-month stand-off with Philippine coast guard ships, preventing Filipino fishermen from getting near their traditional fishing grounds. The shoal is about 125 nautical miles (230 km) west of the Philippines. "Yes, there are buoys there," said Desiree Edora, mayor of Masinloc town, which has jurisdiction over Scarborough Shoal. "I already sent the chief of police to investigate the buoys," she told Reuters.

Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, AO, CSC, RAN, was joined at HMAS Cairns today by his Philippine counterpart, Flag Officer in Command Philippine Navy, Vice Admiral Jesus Millan, at a ceremony to gift two decommissioned Australian Balikpapan class landing craft to the Government of the Philippines. Super Typhoon Haiyan caused significant devastation to the Philippines in November 2013 and approximately 500 Australian Defence Force personnel, including the crew of HMAS Tobruk and a deployment of Army Engineers, provided in-country support to the relief effort, at the request of the Philippines Government. “The relief effort highlighted the importance of regional sea lift options due to numerous airfields being inaccessible and land infrastructure impassable…

China warned it can take "further actions" after the Philippines confirmed it is fortifying the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded ship on Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the South China Sea. Beijing has hit out at Manila for repairing a crumbling ship serving as its outpost in the disputed South China Sea, branding the Philippines as a "hypocritical troublemaker and rule breaker". The Philippines said Tuesday it would repair the Sierra Madre which is at a shoal also claimed by China. A Reuters report said the Philippines also plans to revive a former US naval base in Subic Bay. The Philippines officially announced that it was repairing a crumbling ship serving as its lonely outpost in the disputed South China Sea as China deploys more vessels and builds new islands nearby.