Philippines considers building submarine fleet

Philippines considers building submarine fleet (Source:nationalinterest.org)

Hanoi (VNA) – Philippines’ President Benigno Aguino on March 30 said the country might invest in building its first submarine fleet.

Speaking with the press in the capital Manila, the president stressed the need for the country to intensify modernisation of the armed forces in order to meet defence demands, as the country is an interchange on the Pacific Ocean.

The president said disputes on the East Sea have caused great concern among many countries, as they could hinder commercial activities on the busy sea route, which sees one third of the world’s petroleum delivered through the area every day.

On March 9, the president revealed the country will rent five Japanese TC-90 airplanes to support its sea patrol activities – in the context of China recently escalating its military presence in the region. He also asserted that the government will continue consolidating national defence through strengthening its air forces, in order to protect sea borders.

From 2017 the country’s army is expected to spend 83 billion pesos (1.77 billion USD) on improving and modernising the equipment of the air and naval forces.-VNA