Philippine Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jr has confirmed that the Philippine and Japanese governments have finalised the agreement regarding Manila's acquisition of secondhand warships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF).
Five of the JMSDF's six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts [not destroyers as frequently erroneously stated by other news outlets, –ed] have been selected for eventual hand-over to the Philippine Navy. The ships have been in Japanese service since 1989.
The Philippine News Agency quoted Teodoro as saying that the administrative details of the vessels' the hand-over are still being finalised while adding that the hand-over itself is "already a done deal."
The secretary added that the condition of each destroyer escort will still be assessed to enable local defence planners to determine the most appropriate way of incorporating the ships into the Philippine Navy's active fleet.
The destroyer escorts were originally designed for coastal patrols and anti-submarine warfare. Their armament includes 76mm naval guns, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, and Phalanx 20mm close-in weapon systems.
The Abukuma-class ships will be replaced in JMSDF service by the locally manufactured Mogami-class stealth frigates.
