Picture of the Day: Philippine Frigate Returns Home
South Korean sailors line the rails of the Navy’s Pohang-class corvette Seongnam (L) as the ship flies its signal flags on its mast to salute the lead ship of the Philippine navy’s brand new Jose Rizal-guided class missile frigate at sea and wish it a safe voyage home, in this photo provided by Seoul’s naval service on May 18, 2020. The Philippine warship, built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, also hoisted its own flags to thank the corvette. (Yonhap)
Nice to see the Philippines getting some new new naval vessels. The old U.S. scrap that makes up the bulk of their fleet is woefully under-gunned and antiquated, especially considering the threat from China.
Sadly, not of our “Top. Men.” seemed to understand China was always a threat.
A friend of mine in the PI says Duterte is basically in China’s pocket, which is why you don’t hear much Filipino screaming about Chinese encroachment in places like the South China Sea, or about China’s role in infecting the world.
Duterte realizes that he’s not strong enough to stand up to China but that is changing with Trump fighting back on trade. This is evidenced by the Philippines going out and buying new naval vessels from South Korea.
A little remembered part of naval history was the Philippines Enlistment Program (PEP), Started in 1947, it offered filipino men the opportunity to directly enlist in the US Navy while still in the Philippines. And, if their service was during a time of military conflict they were given the opportunity to apply for US citizenship.
The program was tied to the US bases agreement in the Philippines so when that agreement ended in 1992, so did the PEP.