MaxDefense Philippines V2

The China Coaat Guard has started aggressive actions against the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) which is anchored at Sabina / Eacoda Shoal earlier today 31 August 2024.

The CCG used some of its larger ships to intentionally ram BRP Teresa Magbanua while it was anchoted inside the shoal, a sign that the Chinese Government is again trying to increase the ante of aggression against the Philippines.

The PCG has confirmed just a few hours ago that the the BRP Teresa Magbanua will not move oit of the shoal, and confirmed that there were no injuries inside the ship.

At the same time the CCG brought in 2 ocean tugboats into the area, which could be a sign that the CCG will use the tugboats to tow or push the PCG ship away from the shoal

Should the Philippines do nothing, we expect China to further increase the ante until it forces the Philippines out of the shoal.

The Philippine Government should start pushing back and not just allow itself to be pushed around by China.

📽 PCG

**kChina

The Philippine Coast Guard is scheduled to formally receive an Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (UsV) from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as part of its Global Maritime Crime Program.

The USV was suppose to be formally turned over today to the PCG but was rescheduled, althoigh the USV itself is in the PCG's headquarters in Manila.

The USV appears to be geared for surveillance in coastal areas, most likely operating and controlled from a larger manned vessel.

Photo credits to Inquirer.net.

The Philippines and Vietnam are scheduled to sign a new Defense Cooperation Agreement today 30 August 2024 in Manila.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang are scheduled to sign the agreement, which would boost defense and military relations.

This comes after Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit to Vietnam last January 2024 wherein both countries agreed to boost cooperation in the South China Sea to avoid tensions and peacefully solve incidents at sea.

To those who don't know, the Philippines and Vietnam are actually Strategic Partners since 2015.

Photo credits to AFP through ABS-CBN News.

Good news: The DND is soliciting proposals for the acquisition of 40 new Multirole Fighters for the Philippine Air Force.

Bad News: how to fund it.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro admitted that while acquiring 40 multirole fighters instead of just 12 will make a big difference in securing the country's territories, the problem will be on how to finance such plan.

Initial Re-Horizon 3 plans state that the Government needs to shell out a minimum of US$7.4 billion to acquire 40 new fighter aircraft including basing and ammunition for them.

So far, Sec. teodoro has shown disappointment that the budget allocated for the AFP Modernizaiton Program has not been enough and may lead to difficulty in financing its planned procurement projects, thus his move to look for other means of funding including syndicated loans from foreign and local sources, and asking aircraft manufacturers to include long term financing options to make it more affordable to pay for the Philippine Government.

So far, Sec. Teodoro confirmed that he already talked to the Banker's Association of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Department of Finance about such proposal but nothing has been committed from the BSP and DOF.

Also, he stressed that legislation might be needed to be made to support such plan, as current laws limit external loans for defense acquisition to just US$300 million in total, which is only enough to buy 2 fighter aircraft.

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With these in mind, it means that despite a push by the DND to procure 40 fighters, in reality it might only be able to afford to just continue with its original plan to procure 12 fighters.

This could be more realistic for now since the Philippine Government will not have a problem to cough up the required 10 to 15% deposit for this (somewhere between US$150 to 220 million), and that the US Government's US$500 million Foreign Military Financing could become handy if the DND decides to procure American fighter aircraft.

So while I did mention that the DND might be looking at procuring all 40 fighter aircraft in 1 transaction only, I could be wrong and the DND might be pushed to still continue with proceeding with its original plan for 12 fighters first, with the rest to be procured later on in a separate transaction.

Photo CTTO.

The Ukrainian Air Force has confirmed the loss of its first F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, with its pilot Col. Oleksi "Moonfish" Mes killed in action.

While it has stressed that the aircraft was not shot down by enemy fire, no confirmation was made as to what happened.

It is believed the crash was due to pilot error.

Some sources have reported that Ukraine received an initial of 6 F-16AM/BM sourced from a NATO country. Despite more than 80 units already earmarked for Ukraine, the lack of qualified pilots and the long time it takes to have qualified pilots have delayed deliveries.

Col. Mes was one of the few qualified F-16 pilots in the Ukrainian Air Force and his loss is a massive blow for the program.

Also part of DND's Congressional Hearing on Budget for FY2025, Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro confirmed that the Philippine Navy plans to build 3 dry dock facilities, with locations already identified in Cebu and Subic.

These dry docks will give the Philippine Navy more maintenance facilities where it could conduct Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of its naval assets.

But he also confirmed that their requested budget for Additional Facilities may not be able to fund the construction of all 3 dry docks at the same time. The DND will have to see how much will be the final approved budget to determine how many dry docks can be funded next year.

The Agila Subic shipyard beside Naval Operating Base Subic has drydocks but could be too large as they were made to assemble modules to consteuct large commercial cargo vessels. The PN will only need enough and the size will be dependent on what their largeat ships would be in the future.

Consteuction work is also ongoing at the Naval Operating Base Mactan in Cebu, wherein the Philippine Navy might be able to build a small drydock in addition to other facilities.

As part of the Congressional hearing on the Department of National Defense's budget for Fiscal Year 2025 held earlier today, Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro has again confirmed that the DND is looking to acquire 40 brand new Multirole Fighters as part of the Philippine Air Force's Re-Horizon 3 asset acquisition program.

No specific brands and models have been mentioned although he said the DND have already solicited proposals from different countries which includes payment schemes spread over a number of years to make it affordable for the Philippine Government.

Surprisingly no mention was made on potential counter-trade proposals, in which the winning manufacturer will inveat in the Philippines a certain amount equivalent to a certain percentage of the MRF Acquisition Program's contract cost, just like what Thailand requires Saab or Lockheed Martin to do.

The decision to go for 40 units could be the main reason as to why the DND has been delayed in making a decision for the PAF's Multirole Fighter program.

Over the past few weeks, MaxDefense Philippines received confirmation that the DND has expanded the fighter competition which included proposals not just from previously shortlisted manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Saab, but also from Korea Aerospace Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Dassault Aviation, and Eurofighter Consortium.

Our sources did made a strong confirmation that offers on Dassault's Rafale and KAI's KF-21 Boramae were already formally submitted.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said in an press conference after the PH-US Mutual Defense Board - Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) conference that the AFP wants to have Mid Range Capability (MRC) as part of its arsenal.

While actual video of Gen. Brawner's statement did not mention the US-made Typhon Mid Range Capability missile system, it is possible that Gen. Brawner was refering to it considering MRC is the technical name of the Typhon missile system.

This is also considering the rest of his statement was about the US bringing in its weapon systems for familarization and training by AFP personnel, including the Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems.

He did mention the Brahmos missile system from India, although the absence of Brahmos in the American inventory, especially the product being essentially partly Russian, could be an issue as the Americans cannot directly assist the AFP in their operation and maintenance.

It now remains to be seen if:
1. The Philippines can affors to procure the Typhon Mid-Range Capability missile system, and
2. The US Government will approve the sale of the Typhon missile system, which includes the Tomahawk long range cruise missile and the SM-6 multi-purpose missile. Both missiles are difficult to obtain even by close US allies due to their technology and capability that can change the balance of power in the region. While China have greater capabilities compared to Typhon, the rest of the region except for Japan, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan, do not have similar or more superior capabilities.

The AFP'a Re-Horizon 3 Procuremenr Plan actually includes the acquisition of several batteries of Land Based Missile Systems that can be used against ships and land targets.

China has been very vocal against the US' deployment of the Typhon missile system in the Philippines, although the Philippines having its own Typhon MRC system could be a different issue. Shpuld the Philippines do receive the Typhon MRC system, it is because of China's own aggression and indifference to the national interest of its neighbors.

Visiting Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, together with AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner visited Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga to see the development of the base including EDCA facilities.

The inspection focused on the improvements and upgrades made to enhance the operational capabilities of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and promote joint interoperability between the two armed forces.

FYI, Adm. Paparo is a naval aviator in his younger years, whose experience include flying the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet and even USAF F-15 Eagle fighters.

Photo credits to Armed Forces of the Philippines / SSg Ambay / PAOAFP.

Looks like those convicted Chinese druglords know a lot of Duterte's dirty secrets that's why he asked for them to be assasinated even inside the prison.

Remember that Duterte is accussed as being the largest drug protector of the country, and that his so-called War on Drugs was a big sham to actually exterminate other drug syndicates to allow his group to monopolize the drug distribution.

The House quad-committee cited BuCor Senior Supt. Gerardo Padilla in contempt for refusing to answer questions without legal justification.

Padilla will be detained at Bicutan City Jail for 30 days.

Padilla is alleged to have ordered two persons deprived of liberty (PDL), who confessed to killing three alleged drug lords who are Chinese nationals at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016, to dispose of their murder weapons.

The PDLs testified that it was former president Rodrigo Duterte who ordered the killings.

The US Department of Defense has confirmed that the US Government is ready to provide assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, should the Philippine Government makes the request.

This is after the Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo said that escorting Philippine Ro-Re missions to the West Philippine Sea is a possible and a reasonable request subject to consultations by the US and Philippine Governments.

So far the Philippine Government has not asked American assistance in its Ro-Re missions despite setbacks over the week as China Coast Guard, Chinese Maritime Militia and the People's Liberation Army Navy have blocked, rammed, chased and water cannoned ships of the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Maritime Resources especially near Sabina/Escoda Shoal.

It is possible that the Philippine Government will reserve this option for more strategic movements which may include construction of permanent facilities in Second Thomas/Ayungin Shoal and Sabina/Escoda Shoal, and exploration and drilling for oil and gas at the Reed/Recto Bank.

It may also need such assistance when BRP Teresa Magbanua get relieved at Sabina/Ayungin Shoal and replaced with another ship, most likely its sistership BRP Melchora Aquino, or a chartered modified large ship that can stay longer at sea and can accommodate large helicopters.

So far it has been observed by the Philippine Navy that the presence of multi-national naval forces together with the Philippine Navy made Chinese naval forces "behave", which shows that China is really picking the fights that it will go into, which is only when an all-Filipino unit is involved.

Photo credits to original sources.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is a sub-agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA). And right now the head of the DA is Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., whose interest is in the fishing industry being the (former) President of Frabelle Fishing Corporation, one of Asia's largest deep-sea fishing company, and is also a Commander in the Philippine Navy's Reserves.

Unknown to many, Frabelle Fishing Corporation's huge fishing fleet actually operates further away from the Philippines, in the Western and Central Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

With these in mind, now should be the best time for the BFAR to actually invest more in improving the local fishing industry, by empowering Filipino fishermen and providing them with the necessary tools to strengthen their capacity to bring in fish to Filipino markets.

This can be done by subsidizing the construction of larger steel-hulled fishing boats, comparable to those operated by Chinese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese fishing fleets, that are large enough to sail further away and have greater endurance at sea, while strong enough to endure ramming from China Coast Guard or Chinese Maritime Militia ships, or be able to conduct ramming operations themselves.

In return, these fishermen can also work as de-facto Philippine Maritime Militia personnel, flying our national flag over our 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zones and other areas of interest, while also acting as eyes and ears for the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard by providing them the necessary radar and communications equipment, training on working together with PCG and PN units, and identifying foreign ships.

It has been proven that it can be done, as previously the BFAR already constructed smaller 21-meter steel-hulled fishing boats operated by fishing associations. All they have to do now is institutionalize this, and build larger ships of at least 30m long.

Vietnam's TK-1482 class steel-hulled fishing/militia vessels are prime examples of which the Philippine Government can look at. Vietnam built more than 100 of these ships, and are being used not just to fish in the South China Sea, but to also support Vietnamese interests and the Vietnam Coast Guard when dealing against the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia.

Sec. Tiu Laurel should understand that even though these fishermen are competitors of Frabelle Fishing Corporation in the fishing industry, they should all be united as Filipinos fighting for the interest of the Philippines.

So what advantages will the Philippines get by empowering Filipino fishermen:

1. Securing seafood and increasing food production for the Filipino food market. A more robust Filipino fishing industry can help secure cheaper, plentiful and consistent supply of seafood for Filipinos.

2. Giving our fishermen more secured income from being able to fish generously, while also getting allowance from the Government for their participation as Maritime Militiamen.

3. Giving the local shipbuilding industry a boost by allowing the ships to be built by numerous Filipino shipbuilders, increasing our shipbuilding economy while also providing more secured jobs to Filipino shipbuilders and keeping shipbuilding knowhow.

4. Giving the Philippine Government more options in the West Philippine Sea when dealing with Chinese maritime forces, including increasing the chances of success of the Philippines in its goals and interests.

5. Securing our maritime entitlements and territories, and creating a force multiplier for the Philippine Navy by having additional assets at sea that can provide information and intelligence gathering.

6. Show to the world including China and other neighbours that the Philippines mean business when dealing about securing its territories, entitlements, sovereign rights and sovereignty, and that it is exhausting all options before asking for help from its allies, partners and other like-minded countries.

Since Sec. Tiu Laurel made Frabelle Fishing Corporation one of the largest fishing fleets in the world, he might know how to institutionalize and improve the Filipino fishing industry and bring it to a high standard while also helping securing Philippine interests at the same time.

MaxDefense Philippines learned that Sec. Tiu Laurel and Pres. Marcos Jr. are actually close friends since their teenage years, and maybe a good push from Sec. Tiu Laurel for support from Pres. Marcos will do the trick.

Photo credits to Josefa Slipway, VietDefense and Radio Free Asia.

After less than a year in evaluating what fighter is best for them, the Royal Thai Air Force has announced that its evaluation and selection panels have recommended the selection of Saab's JAS-39E/F Gripen over the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 Viper.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, after several years since the current Multirole Fighter Acquisition Project started, the DND and PAF still claim that they are still trying to make a decision.

Sometimes as much as you want to support the AFP Modernization Program, there's this side of you that just says to start looking forward to early retirement and enjoying life without care about the Philippines.

https://www.twz.com/air/thailand-chooses-gripen-e-f-as-its-new-fighter

Thailand Chooses Gripen E/F As Its New Fighter After repeated losses in international fighter competitions, the Swedish Gripen E/F just got a major boost. After repeated losses in international fighter competitions, it looks like the Swedish Gripen E/F just got a major boost.

Hypocrisy of the Dutertes. They institutionalised human rights abuse during former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte's administration. And now they have the nerve to cry abuse of authority to the PNP's manhunt for hiding cult leader, child abuser and money launderer Apollo Quiboloy and obstruction of justice by his dumb followers.

Local manufacturer Francisco Motors Corporation (FMC) has released the prototype of their LAKAN amphibious rescue vehicle, which is aimed at Civil Defense agencies for flood and rescue operations, as well as for the Armed Forces of the Philippines for military amphibious transport/utility applications.

Powered by a 2.8L diesel engine, it can carry up to 6 people, has a road speed of up to 95kph, and is propelled via a propeller allowing water speed of up to 14kph.

The new RA12009 now provides leeway for local manufacturers to bring in their new products for procurement by government agencies, despite being unproven. This will give the product a chance to prove itself and improve further.

The vehicle is small, which is more applicable for loval government unit's rescue services, although FMC getting experience in building such vehicles would allow them to improve and build larger vehicles that could have significant impact for military application, especially once the SRDP gets revived.

Photo credits to FMC's Elmer Francisco.

If we follow former Pres. Duterte's instructions back in 2020, it seems what the Philippine National Police did during the serving of arrest warrant against cult leader and suspected child abuser and money launderer Apollo Quiboloy was not wrong.

But then again, Dutertards are absolute hypocrites and ignorants, forgetful of the gospel of Duterte.

Photo ctto.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has raised a public tender for the design, construction and delivery of two new 50-meter Multi-Mission Offshore Vessels (MMOVs) with a helicopter deck for light helicopters.

The budget is Php800 million for 2 ships.

The ships are to be as large as its current fleet of Lapu-Lapu-class multi-mission offshore vessels which were designed by Australia's Incat Crowther and build by Filipino shipbuilder Josefa Slipway.

Since this is a public bidding, the winning shipbuilder and design could come from any participating shipbuilder, although the Lapu-Lapu-class could be close to what the BFAR is looking for.

The photos below were included in the tender documents and is a representation of what the basic design could look like. It actually sports the same lines as the Lapu-Lapu class, with a helideck added in the aft section.

In addition, it also calls for the acquisition of a new 80-meter Multi Purpose Refrigerated Cargo Ship witha budget of Php700 million.

This would assist fishermen to keep their catch fresh when fishing out at sea, while also securing their catch by having BFAR buy their catch and help in distribution once it lands.

Just a few days ago we mentioned about building more ships for the PCG and BFAR, and hopefully tge BFAR will not stop with this 2 new ships.

They might even need larger ships as well as building larger steel-hulled fishing boats which not only can be built for Filipino fishermen to be able to extend their range and improve their catch but also survive harassment from the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia, as well as be used as well for a Philippine Maritime CAFGU.

Photo from Philgeps through Milot Chau's post at DRP @ FB page.

Just a reminder, there is someone who made a fake Tiktok page claiming to be MaxDefense Philippines, which also repost what we have here in our official page.

We allow others to copy our posts as long as we are properly cited. But creating a page using our name is a big no no and we'll have to act against it.

We do not have a Tiktok page, or any Chinese social media page. We do not support any Chinese product or app.

Please report the said Tiktok page as a fake page. Thank you.

MaxDefense Philippines on TikTok 729 Followers, 9 Following, 5258 Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by MaxDefense Philippines

The Royal Malaysian Navy's Handalan-class fast attack craft KD Pendekar (3513) sunk yesterday 25 August 2024 off the coast of Johor, apparently after the ship hit an underwater object resulting to a breach in its hull near the engine room.

All crew were rescued by local ships as the naval craft started to list.

The KD Pendekar was commissioned in service with the RMN in 1979, and was considered a game changer back then as the RMN tried to build small but heavily armed ships to counter the older but larger ships of both Indonesia and the Philippines.

It was originally armed with 4 MM38 Exocet anti-ahip missiles, but has since been removed due reaching its end of its life cycle / expiry.

I noticed that every time an official from the Philippine Government or defense, security and geopolitical analysts are asked by the media as to what the Philippines should do in the fact of China's increasing aggression in the West Philippine Sea, the replies always do not include finding ways to actively confronting China?

The most common replies we hear are the following:
1. Continue to be firm in standing for our sovereign rights over the WPS / 200nmi EEZ.
2. Continue the Transparency Initiative and expose to the world what China has been doing, to damage its reputation.
3. Continue to increase our relations with like-minded countries to help pressure China to stop its aggressive and illegal actions.
4. Continue to pursue dialogue and peaceful negotiations with China.

Apparently the idea is to continue to maintain the moral high ground and just continue to follow international law and pursue dialogue with China.

But it is also quite obvious that dialogue and passiveness is not working and is even giving China a chance to push the envelop further on where the Philippines will actually do something that will make them think twice and probably stop.

Any stronger action against China's aggression won't dent the Philippines' reputation as it already achieved taking the moral high ground in the eyes of the international community. The same audience are actually very familiar that the Philippines is doing its best to keep the peace.

Taking a more direct action will not hurt the Philippines' leverage of keeping the moral high ground. If the Philippines decide to confront China, it is already understandable considering the patience in taking China's blows without any counter-action.

Confronting China within the Philippines' 200nmi EEZ aka West Philippine Sea are also within international law as part of its rights as a sovereign state with sovereign rights over its EEZ

Now how can this be done? First the Philippines should have means, both qualitative and quantitative to face China in the seas. The Philippines can learn a thing or two from Vietnam, which has fielded quantitative and qualitative Coast Guard and Maritime Militia fleet to do this.

So far, none of our Government officials or defense/geopolitcal analysts proposed to raise a large fleet of new coast guard and maritime milita ships and empowering our fishermen by giving them larger steel-hulled fishing boats and employing them as maritime militia forces. Why??

While a proposal to have a Philippine Maritime Militia was raised a few years ago, this resulted to nothing. Our fishermen still use small wooden boats that can be easily pushed back by CCG and CMM ships. They still cannot operate further out to sea safely, and compete with fishing boats from other countries.

Vietnam is not a very rich country. In fact economy-wise it is very much comparable to the Philippines, yet they were able to achieve fielding such fleet at a very short span of time.

Local companies like Josefa Slipway has proved that it can produce steel-hulled fishing boats and patrol boats at a high rate, the Philippines just need to find ways to assist our fishermen (and local shipbuilders as well by giving them opportunities), as well as speeding up the construction of new ships for the Philippine Coast Guard and BFAR by providing funds for it as well as in quickly training ship crews.

I also have no doubt that our fishermen, given the right tools and assistance, will voluntarily cooperate with the Philippine Government to become eyes and ears in the West Philippine Sea, and probably even help in enforcing our country's sovereign rights over its EEZ, even without the need for convincing.

Time to grow some spine and balls! Our territory, our rights, our responsibility. Let us not rely too much on others for our own welfare.

(photo credits to original sources)