The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the strengthening of the country's naval capability by acquiring more maritime assets will be beneficial to the country's goal of building a credible defense posture in the West Philippine Sea.

AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said there's an ongoing acquisition of maritime assets for the Philippine Naval lodged under Horizon 3 of the Revised AFP Modernization Program.

"These are very important assets that we have to acquire. First, we have to increase our capability to conduct maritime domain awareness. We have to see what is happening in our environment, that is why we are coming up with the radar systems and other capabilities that will make sure that we have a 360-degree capability to know what is happening," Aguilar said in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

The AFP will prioritize the procurement of submarines that can be used in defending the country's territorial waters, he noted.

"I'm sure everyone will agree that having a submarine is advantageous to any country but huwag naman sana ninyong isipin na war mongering tayo," he said.

"We are just developing our capability because we just want to protect what is ours, what will benefit the Filipino people because that is our mandate."

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the Philippines is also negotiating with Spain for the purchase of one or two submarines that will strengthen the AFP's maritime capability.

"The government has been pursuing military modernization efforts to attain a minimum credible defense posture in the midst of increased tension in the Indo-Pacific region," it said.