Philippine Navy to Receive Two PKM Gun Boats

The Philippine navy will receive two Patrol Killer Medium (PKM) gun boats this year from the government of South Korea, as South Korea's defense minister promised on January 25 during his visit to Manila, www.chinaview.cn reported. The two second-hand vessels were negotiated in 2003 and are expected to boost the Philippines' coastal surveillance capability in its maritime security operations, according to a press release issued by the Philippine Navy after the visit. The transfer of the two vessels is a part of South Korea's security assistance package pledged to the Philippines in 1994, when the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on naval cooperations. (Source: www.chinaview.cn)