A Navy officer accompanies a young guest after the formal ceremonies for the 125th founding anniversary of the Philippine Navy was held at the Navy Headquarters on Roxas Boulevard in Manila on May 26, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Philippines is carefully studying a plan to acquire its first submarine, given the significant commitments needed to maintain and operate this asset, the navy said on Monday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently revealed plans to procure a submarine for the Philippine Navy but said government would first work on bolstering the country’s anti-submarine capabilities.
Preparations for the acquisition of the country’s first submarine began around a decade ago, Philippine Navy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Jose Ma. Ambrosio Ezpeleta noted.
“Kagaya ng sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos, ito ay nasa plano ng Philippine Navy, gusto lang nating unahin ang surface platforms dahil napakalaking commitment ang pagkuha ng isang submarine," he said during a public briefing.
(As President Marcos said, this is part of the plans of the Philippine Navy. We just want to prioritize surface platforms because acquiring a submarine isa very big commitment.)
"Ang aming ginagawa sa ngayon, almost more than 10 years ago nagsimula na tayo magplano ng procurement submarine at sinimulan na natin ang pagtrain ng mga tauhan, pinapadala sila abroad para mapag-aralan kung paano magpatakbo, mag-alaga at mag-maintain ng isang submarine so hindi po ganoon kadali at ang kanyang presyo ay napakamahal kaya pinag-iisipan po at pinagpaplanuhan natin nang maayos,” he added.
(Since we started planning the submarine procurement almost more than 10 years we sent personnel abroad to train how to operate and maintain it. Its price is also very high, so we are mulling this over and planning it properly.)
Last Friday, the Philippine Navy commissioned two missile-capable gunboats during its 125th anniversary celebration in Manila.
Marcos said the new assets from Israel are expected to boost the Navy’s capabilities to patrol the country’s maritime borders.
“Ito ay may capability, may missile capability later on, ito ay importante sa ating capability upgrade para mabantayan natin 'yung ating mga... sea lanes of communications — 'yung mga chokepoints sa Pilipinas. 'Yan po 'yung mga napakabilis na barko [at] very capable,” Ezpeleta said.
(These have missile capability, which is very important for us to guard our sea lanes of communications, the chokepoints in the Philippines. These are very fast and capable vessels.)