One of South Korea’s top shipbuilders is turning out new warships for the Philippines as Manila accelerates its naval modernization.
The new frigates mark a major upgrade for the Philippine fleet, offering the country a more credible defense as China turns up the pressure in the South China Sea.
The historically obsolete Philippine naval force is now modernizing to meet current and future threats. “The Philippine Navy is professional and getting stronger,” Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, told Business Insider. He said that “adding two guided-missile frigates to their very small fleet means that China’s no longer running alone in the arms competition in the South China Sea.”
South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has built two HDF-3200 Hybrid frigates for the Philippines. The second vessel, BRP Diego Silang, was commissioned earlier this month, over six months after the first-in-class BRP Miguel Malvar entered service.
Both vessels bring added firepower to the Philippine Navy. They’re the first Philippine warships to have vertical launch systems for missiles, a modern capability that allows the Philippines to carry and fire VL MICA surface-to-air missiles made by MBDA, a European missile company. The frigates also carry eight SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missiles made by South Korea.
Warship vertical launch systems can be refreshed with new weapons over time. They shoot missiles straight upward before they arc toward their targets, a design that works well in all conditions. Each frigate has 16 cells, allowing the Philippines to tailor its missile loadouts for different missions.
The $550 million contract for the two frigates dates to 2021 and is the latest in a string of deals between HD Hyundai and Manila. The premier South Korean shipbuilder is also constructing six offshore patrol vessels and has discussed additional projects. In all, it has built 10 ships for the Philippine Navy.
“As we strengthen our defense industry network with the Philippines and other key Southeast Asian countries, we plan to identify additional potential demand and continuously expand our business competitiveness in the region,” the company told Business Insider in a statement.
As Manila races to modernize its military, new warships give its navy much-needed heft in a region where China now fields the world’s largest fleet and increasingly throws its weight around.
The South China Sea has been a hotbed of Chinese aggression, accidents, and close-calls in recent years, with Beijing’s navy, coast guard, and maritime militia vessels frequently harassing Philippine fishing boats, spraying them with water cannons, chasing them down, and even ramming into them.
Within the contested region, the Philippines’ new frigates and firepower now pose a potential challenge for China.
“They would be taking a very big chance of being sunk or knocked out of the sky if they start to push around these frigates,” Cronin said of China’s ships and planes. Strategies on both sides of this long-running dispute will, however, need to be managed carefully to avoid escalation and a shift from gray-zone aggression to conflict.
China fields a huge coast guard, backed by some of the world’s largest cutters, and typically relies on it for confrontations in the South China Sea while its navy hangs back. In a recent encounter, a Chinese navy destroyer joined in the chase of a Philippine patrol ship. Its unsafe maneuvering at sea led to it slamming into one of China’s own coast guard vessels.
“It is part of China’s standard operating procedure to intentionally engage in unsafe behavior and create risks of collision at sea and in the air,” Gregory Poling, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider at the time.
The Philippines has been investing in other military might to counter China as well.
Manila’s Archipelagic Defense Concept, for instance, has included the acquisition of more missile systems and better intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance capabilities to monitor its waters. Additionally, more military exercises and deeper cooperation between the Philippines, US, Australia, and other Pacific parnters is also helping better prepare Manila.
The Philippines is also planning for a fleet of submarines, with another South Korean shipbuilder, Hanwha Ocean, pitching an offer to build diesel-electric submarines earlier this year, as well as construct a submarine base, with support for local maintenance, repair, overhaul, and training.
Newer submarines would provide the Philippine Navy with additional ways to patrol and monitor activity within its waters and deter foes.
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