SAN NARCISO, Zambales — The Philippine Navy is reviving its plans to locally manufacture naval vessels to strengthen maritime security amid the ongoing tension in the West Philippine Sea, its spokesperson disclosed yesterday.

Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said the government, through the Department of National Defense, will no longer buy warships from other countries.

“The Defense department says very strongly that we will no longer buy ships from abroad because to sustain them is more expensive than their cost. It is better for the economy to build our own ships,” said Trinidad in a media forum at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

“So, part of the effort of the Defense department is to spur the development of the local industry,” Trinidad said.

The Philippine Navy, according to Trinidad, will train its personnel in shipbuilding.

“Yes, that is our direction. The Philippine Navy, as I mentioned earlier, had developed two or three warships in the 1980s, so why not just sustain that? We are reviving that effort,” he said.

Trinidad assured the public the Philippine Navy, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other maritime players will do everything to secure and protect the country’s territory and exclusive economic zones.

Evolving security challenges

Investing in the country’s military modernization is crucial amid the evolving security challenges, particularly the heightened territorial tension in the West Philippine Sea, he said.

Trinidad emphasized the need to prepare the AFP’s capabilities as the country shifts to boosting its external defense posture.

“We have to look at defense and security not as an expense but as an investment. And you never stop investing in the defense and security of the country,” Trinidad told reporters on the sidelines of the National Security Cluster workshop being held at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in San Narciso, Zambales from 2 to 4 May.

Once a credible posture is achieved, Trinidad said assessing if the modern equipment would be sufficient for the country’s needs is critical.

“Meaning to say, when we get to the point that we have a credible defense, we could assess if it is sufficient and if it’s not, we have to think that it’s an investment for national security,” he said.

The AFP earlier emphasized its seriousness in addressing the current external security challenges with modern equipment. Thus, it began implementing Horizon 1 and Horizon 2 in 2013 to 2018 and 2018 to 2022, respectively.

Horizon 3 or the final phase of the AFP Modernization Program will run this year until 2028 and will consist of equipment geared for external defense.

China vessels spotted off Tawi-Tawi

 Meanwhile, Navy spokesperson Commander John Percie Alcos said the Philippine Navy on Friday spotted two Chinese-flagged vessels sailing in the Sibutu Passage off the Sulu archipelago.

He said the vessels, with bow numbers 887 and 174, were identified as replenishment tanker Weishanhu and destroyer Hefei, respectively.

He said the ships of the China People’s Liberation Army Navy invoked “innocent passage.”

“They were monitored continuously transiting in the internationally recognized Sibutu Passage,” Alcos told Daily Tribune.

He said the naval forces of the Western Mindanao Command first spotted the vessels yesterday. 

“It is not unusual to traverse that particular passage,” he said, adding that there was nothing to worry about.

In the Law of the Sea, the right of innocent passage for international navigation applies to straits. 

The law says the passage must be innocent and refrain from engaging in certain prohibited activities such as smuggling, spying, weapons testing, and serious pollution, among others.

Additional capabilities

For her part, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said the needs of the military depend on the evolving threats the country needs to address.

She said, however, that the AFP cannot publicly divulge anything about the modern equipment being procured.

“In the modernization program, as long as the project has not been formally turned over to the AFP, we cannot comment on it. Why? Because it will pass through a lot of work, including technical checks. That’s the reason we cannot comment,” she said.

In terms of modernization, Padilla emphasized that the AFP is “always addressing contemporary security challenges.”

“We are actually evolving continuously. That’s why we have Horizons 1, 2, and 3 — these are continuous projects,” she said.

“When you look at the modernization of a whole system it is composed of five things: hardware, software, people ware, network, and data,” she said.