As means of defense, our country has the Philippine Navy. It is the country's naval warfare branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). As per reports, they have 24, 000 active service members and around 7, 500 of those are from the Marine Corps.
Who leads the Philippine Navy?
The current commander-in-chief is President Rodrigo Roa Duterte; the Chief of staff is General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; the one in command of the Philipine Navy, which is deemed as the Flag Officer in-command of the Philippine Navy is Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad of the AFP.
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To strengthen their stand more, they plan on acquiring more vessels and vehicles. Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad, the Philippine Navy flag officer-in-command, said that a variety of machines will be added.
What other equipment would the Philippine Navy be getting for its forces?
We are also planning to acquire additional three (3) missile capable MPACs. They are expected to be delivered within this year; more so, they will be armed with the Spike-ER missiles."
In addition to that, Empedrad said that there's a slight need to fortify the forces of the Philippine army—because of some relevant factors.
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I think there is a need to beef up the Philippine Navy (PN) because we have vast maritime territories and we need to protect it."
Empedrad made a mention that the people who would be building the MPACs would be the same builders of the previous vehicles—the Mark II and the Mark III which underwent actual test on the capabilities of its missiles in Manila Bay last year.
Two (2) brand new corvettes are also going to be acquired by the Philippine Navy to add and complement the Pohang Class Warship, which was recently decommissioned—this was donated and given to us by the South Korean government to the Philippines.
Don't get it wrong, the Philippine Navy is a strong force of the Philippines' defenses. However, just like any other stronghold, they need improvements for them to be able to achieve more things.
To add to that, acquiring more warships and vessels is an indication that the forces of the Philippine Navy is expanding—it's one sign that the country's defense mechanism in the oceans is seeing an increase in terms of quantity and that translates to greater and better strength and power.
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War is expensive and it's going to be expensive in the coming times. Especially when a lot of arguments rise between countries here in the Southeast, we really need enhancements on how our defense systems are—to be safe and to promote peace.
To organize, train, equip, maintain, develop, and deploy forces for prompt and sustained naval and maritime operations in support of the Unified Commands in the accomplishment of the AFP Mission."
That is the mission statement of the Philippine Navy so, adding a few warships to their aid in protecting the country is just as necessary as training thousands of men to be prepared for battle.
This goes in complement to Senator Bato's claim of implementing the mandatory military service because a lot of people might apply to be part of the naval forces within the coming years.
We all do hope that the additional warships for the Philippine Navy would be of great productivity and efficiency in sustaining and maintaining peace from external threats.
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