The Philippines is acquiring five Coast Guard patrol vessels as tensions rise in the South China Sea.
The Philippines announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Japan to acquire five surface vessels for the country’s coast guard.
Japan grants the Philippines a generous loan of 380 million euros, with which the country will purchase five 97-meter patrol vessels and the port structures necessary for their maintenance.
– The acquisition will improve the coast guard’s operational capability and especially develop opportunities to intervene in cross-border crime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines informs.
The Philippines already has two large patrol vessels, but the country’s navy is generally considered insufficient to monitor the island nation’s vast sea areas.
China’s rise in the background
The acquisition of the ships is related to the rise of China and the tightening of the security political situation in the South China Sea.
There are regular skirmishes between the navies of China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, where the two countries have overlapping territorial claims.
The most recent skirmish occurred in late April, when Chinese coastguard vessels evicted Philippine vessels with water cannons further from the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
Concerns about China’s ever-growing military power have led the Philippines to seek refuge in other countries aligned against Beijing.
The Philippines and Japan are currently negotiating a security agreement that would allow the countries to station troops in each other’s territory.
Both countries are longtime US allies. Last month, the leaders of Tokyo and Manila met with the US president Joe Biden in Washington in tripartite negotiations.