The Navy plans to shadow or monitor foreign vessels intruding into the country’s territorial waters, especially if they fail to seek permission, flag-officer-in-command Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad said Wednesday.
If the vessel is still not responding to radio calls or communication challenges and has shut off its automatic identification systems, the next step will be the deployment of aircraft to take pictures of the ship and “shadow” or escort it out of Philippine waters, he added.
If there is still no response from the foreign ship, the next option is to have the “shadowing” ship “cross the bow” of the intruding vessel, but not in a provocative manner, Empedrad said.
He also said that the crew of the Navy ship will not be in general quarters—meaning that all hands on board must be able to go to battle stations quickly—while doing this maneuver.
“We [will be just] maneuvering to tell them that they are passing through our territorial waters [without permission) especially if their passage is not [done in an] expeditious [manner],” the Navy chief said.
Empedrad said the Navy is not expecting a hostile response from ships being shadowed or subjected to these measures.
Earlier, the Department of National Defense announced that there is a need to coordinate first with the Armed Forces of the Philippines on how to carry out President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s instructions to require all foreign ships to secure clearance first before entering the country’s territorial waters.
“There needs to be SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures] that clearly define our responses in compliance with existing Philippine and international laws,” acting Defense spokesman Undersecretary Cardozo M. Luna said.
The order came in the wake of repeated intrusions by Chinese warships into Philippine waters without notifying the Philippine government.
The Western Mindanao Command earlier reported that five Chinese naval vessels passed through Sibutu Strait in Tawi-Tawi—four in July and the last on Aug. 4.
At the same time, Empedrad said the newly acquired BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) might be deployed to Palawan or Mindanao.
In a press briefing, Empedrad said the ship will be subjected first to an engine run test, which will take the corvette all over the Philippines, he added.
Once the test is completed, Empedrad said the Navy leadership will decide on whether the ship will be deployed to the Western Command area-of-operations or in Mindanao.
The Western Command is headquartered in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and covers the Kalayaan Island Group and parts of the West Philippine Sea.
Empedrad said the BRP Conrado Yap is an ideal ship to deploy in both areas due to its various automated systems, including its weapons, making it very accurate to use against surface threats.
The BRP Conrado Yap is the former “Chungju” of the Republic of Korea Navy.
The Pohang-class corvette is armed with two 76mm Oto Melara automatic guns, two Oto Breda 40mm light cannons, depth-charge racks, and two triple torpedo tubes and surveillance systems like radar and sonar.
BRP Conrado Yap was formally turned over and commissioned to the Navy on Aug. 5 in ceremonies at Jinhae Naval Base in Changwon City, South Korea.
The corvette and her escort, the BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602) departed the South Korean facility last Aug. 12 for their voyage home which ended early morning of Aug. 18.
The Navy’s second missile frigate, the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), will be launched in the first week of September.
“Our second frigate will be launched [in the] first week of September. By that time, the first frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) will be finished [fitting its equipment],” Empedrad said.
The launching ceremonies will take place at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
The BRP Jose Rizal, the country’s first missile frigate, was launched at the same facility on May 23.
The first missile frigate is expected to be delivered to the Navy by April 2020 while the BRP Antonio Luna is scheduled for September of the same year.
The Philippines and HHI signed a P16-billion contract for two missile-armed frigates with another P2 billion set aside for their weapon systems and munition.
The steel-cutting for BRP Jose Rizal took place on April 1, 2018 while the same ceremony for BRP Antonio Luna was in November the same year. This signified the start of the actual construction of the frigates.
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