Philippine Coast Guard to install 30mm main guns on two patrol ships
The Philippine Coast Guard's two largest patrol ships will be fitted with 30mm main gun armament, a senior official of the service told reporters late last week.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Coast Guard Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) BRP Teresa Magbanua (pictured) and BRP Melchora Aquino will each be equipped with a 30mm gun fitted on a remotely controlled and stabilised mount.
The two MRRVs, currently the largest ships in the Philippine Coast Guard at 97 metres long each, were delivered from Japan in 2022 with weapons mounts but without main gun armament, leaving the service with the option to have the latter installed when it so chooses.
Chester Cabalza, President of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, told local newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer that equipping the MRRVs with 30mm weapons would, "strengthen [the coast guard's] mandate," of ensuring maritime security.
The Magbanua-class ships have been deployed on patrols and supply voyages in the northeastern portion of the Spratly Islands and other maritime areas claimed by the Philippines as within its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
The two MRRVs are variants of the Kunigami-class patrol vessels that were originally designed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japan Coast Guard.
Another five 97-metre MRRVs will be supplied to the Philippine Coast Guard beginning in 2027, as confirmed by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during an official visit to Manila last April.
