PH Navy commissions two former US Navy ships

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy on Monday officially commissioned two coastal ships previously under the United States.

Two cyclone-class patrol coastal ships BRP Valentin Diaz and BRP Ladislao Diwa, officially joined the Navy’s fleet during a christening ceremony at the Naval Station Jose Andrade in Manila.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who led the ceremony, said the vessels are a “welcome and timely addition” as the country pursues a more “robust position” in defending its exclusive economic zone and its territories.

“The sooner we can complete, in coordination with our partners like the PCG (Philippine Coast Guard), our littoral defenses, the sooner we can pursue a more robust position in defending our sovereign rights,” Teodoro said in his speech.

The two 55-meter vessels are now under the Navy’s Littoral Combat Force, the unit responsible for small vessels intended for shallow-water operations.

The vessels, formerly known as USS Monsoon and USS Chinook, were conferred by the United States to the Navy during the retirement ceremony of the two vessels in Manama, Bahrain last March.

Both vessels served the US Navy for nearly 30 years.

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