Naval News – With interest rising on the potential for the Philippines to acquire submarines, Naval News takes a look at one of the top contenders for the program.

Stars and Stripes – The Philippines is developing a plan to acquire submarines, the country’s president said Friday after the navy’s 125th anniversary celebration in Manila.

(Thanks to Alain)

USNI News – The Philippine Coast Guard will hold maritime exercises with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard near the Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal this week.

Manila Times – Rarely has there been such a stark depiction of the disadvantage of the Philippines in the face of Chinese bullying in the West Philippine Sea: in a photo snapped by a reporter from Agence France-Presse on April 23 and published on the front page of The Manila Times yesterday, a large, well-armed China Coast Guard ship was shown blocking the path of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) patrol boat half its size, in an incident that nearly caused a collision.

Defense News – A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing a frightening near-collision in the latest act of Beijing’s aggression in the strategic waterway.

BBC – The US and the Philippines are holding their largest-ever joint military drills a day after China concluded large-scale exercises around Taiwan.

Naval News – The transfer of USS Monsoon and USS Chinook to the Philippine Navy was officially revealed during their decommissioning ceremony on Tuesday, bringing a much needed boost to Philippine maritime capabilities.

The Guardian – Years ago, Fuga Island was set to host a Chinese ‘smart city’. Now it may become home to American troops as the US seeks to protect Taiwan and the region.

Defense News – The Philippine Marine Corps is growing its territorial defense capability, after spending more than 50 years focused on domestic counterinsurgency operations. The service is now tasked with fending off Chinese aggression at sea and fishing fleet incursions into Philippine territorial waters.

Reuters – The Philippine Coast Guard has stepped up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and overflights to protect maritime territory and the country’s fishermen, its chief said on Monday.

AP – A Philippine military commander says the Chinese coast guard has forcibly seized apparent Chinese rocket debris that was being towed by the Philippine navy, in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea.

Naval News – Exclusive interview with Vice Admiral Adeluis S. Bordado, Flag Officer in-Command of the Philippine Navy, during his visit to France in January 2022.

Naval News – On January 12, the Philippine Department of National Defense issued a notice of award indicating the government’s approval to procure the BrahMos shore-based anti-ship missile system from India.

The Diplomat – A preview of how the Philippine Marine Corps will operate in the current and future security environment.

Associated Press – The Philippine military defiantly redeployed two supply boats on Monday to provide food to Filipino marines guarding a disputed shoal in the South China Sea after the Chinese coast guard used water cannons to forcibly turn the boats away in an assault last week that drew angry condemnation and warnings from Manila.

Philippine News Agency – The Philippine Navy (PN) would rather acquire the newly-decommissioned Cyclone-class patrol vessels than obtain another Hamilton-class cutter from the United States, its chief said Monday.

USNI News – The Philippines has sent additional ships on Tuesday to its maritime territory that is subject to China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.

USNI News – Chinese maritime militia vessels remained berthed at the Whitsun Reef, which is located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, lending credence to what Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described as China’s plot to permanently occupy the feature.

Global Times – The daily flybys by Philippine fighter aircraft over Chinese fishing boats taking shelter from the weather near a Chinese reef in the South China Sea are inappropriate, and might inflame tensions and risk accidents, Chinese experts said on Sunday.

Naval News – On March 2, 2021, the Philippines and India signed a government-to-government agreement on defense equipment procurement, paving the way for the sale of the Brahmos missile to the Philippines.

Naval News – The Philippine Navy welcomed the future BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), its second missile-capable frigate.

Naval News – The Philippine Navy today took delivery of a ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) from the United State at the US Embassy in Manila. According to local media the UAS consists of eight Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles.

– USNI News – The Philippine government is putting the brakes on its plan to end a critical aspect of its Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S., but experts say it is too soon to tell whether this decision signals a warming relationship between the two allies.

– Naval News – The Philippine Navy’s first-ever guided-missile frigate, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), set sails from the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in South Korea today, to join her homeland for the first time.

– Naval News – The Philippines Department of Transportation signed a procurement contract with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for two 94-meter Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRVs) for the Philippine Coast Guard.