EDITORIAL - Don’t get too excited over the new ship

The Philippine government has acquired a new vessel for our navy, a missile-capable frigate from South Korea.

The BRP Jose Rizal, as it will soon be called, is expected to enter into service after its official commissioning this June 19, which also happens to be the birth date of the man it’s named after.

According to the Philippine News Agency, quoting Offshore Combat Force head, Commodore Karl Decapia, the arrival of the BRP Jose Rizal “signals the realization of a modern Navy that is capable of imposing the Navy's territorial defense mandate.”

He has good reason to brag; the P8-billion frigate built by Hyundai Heavy Industries is a 2,600-ton vessel with a maximum speed of 25 knots and is “capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations.”

It can also launch guided missiles, though it’s not clear if the missiles come with the ship.

The same report says another vessel, in fact the sister ship of the BRP Jose Rizal, the BRP Antonio Luna, is also expected to arrive later this year.

It’s always good to augment our fleet, especially one as small as ours, and especially in a country such as ours that is surrounded by water. However, this new addition and the one expected shouldn’t fool people into thinking we are now capable of taking on any foreign power, especially that one superpower we seem to be having a love-hate relationship with.

Just to mention figures, China has more than 335 ships in its fleet, including two aircraft carriers, 49 frigates, 48 destroyers, and 79 submarines, just to name a few.

Of course, no one is talking about going to war with China. That was just to mention some of their figures

With that being said, it is also true these ships are a big boost to our territorial defense, because it’s not just our waters with China that need to be secured.

Lest we have forgotten, many foreign undesirables and terrorists continue to enter our country through the backdoor, especially from the restive south, to establish terrorist cells and propagate their particular brand of hate. 

 With these new ships, we can at least expect some of this traffic to lessen.