Germany pledges more drones to coast guard

WARM WELCOME Coast Guard chief Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan welcomes German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. —PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

Germany has committed to donate at least four more drones to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to use in its maritime domain awareness operations in the West Philippine Sea.

PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan made the announcement on Thursday during the visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the PCG headquarters in Manila from Jan. 11 to Jan 12.

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Rear Adm. Armando Balilo, spokesperson for the PCG, said the “four or more” additional drones are part of the 129-million euro (around P7.93 billion) initial assistance by the German government to the Philippines.

“The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea speaks clearly to China’s claims to extensive maritime areas in the South China Sea,” Baerbock said after her bilateral talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“I am saying this because in your region, tensions are rising too. Rough winds [are] blowing across the South China Sea and this is happening in among the most [important] economic regions of the world,” she added.

The PCG has yet to determine when the drones would be delivered as the technical working groups from the two countries have yet to finalize the details of the delivery.

But once delivered, Gavan said the drones would greatly improve and expand operations of the PCG, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.

“We will use it in our search and rescue operations, so we can easily find missing persons and in marine pollution responses like our experience during the Mindoro oil spill. We will also use them in the West Philippine Sea, Benham Rise and areas in the south so we can improve our maritime domain awareness. These will help make our operations more efficient and more targeted,” he explained.

The PCG currently uses two drones donated by Berlin in 2022, specifically in training Coast Guard Aviation Force pilots.