PH’s newest acquired warship from US arrives

Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—It sailed into the country “like a storm,” raved Malacañang on Friday, referring to a recently acquired warship from the United States that finally arrived amid a sea dispute with China.

But retired Navy Commodore Rex Robles did not want to raise expectations of Philippine Naval capabilities too high, saying the Philippines was still far behind China in terms of naval might despite the acquisition of the second-hand warship named BRP Ramon Alcaraz. “It doesn’t make a dent on the balance of power” in the region, he added.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte announced the arrival of the BRP Alcaraz, the Navy’s second Hamilton cutter, at the start of a press briefing in Malacañang.

“Like a storm, it’s now within the Philippine area of responsibility,” quipped Valte, hours after the ship sailed into waters off Casiguran, Aurora, from Guam before dawn on Friday.

After sailing from South Carolina on June 10, the ship made port stops in Mayport, Florida; San Diego, California; Hawaii and Guam.

With three Filipino crewmen aboard, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz was to dock in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the former US naval base in Zambales, over the weekend, Valte said.

President Aquino, who had expressed excitement at its arrival, will lead the “welcome ceremonies” for the warship in Subic on Tuesday, she said.

BRP Alcaraz, the second warship to be acquired from the United States after BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is expected to boost the Philippine Navy fleet and help patrol the seas.

The Philippines is locked in a dispute with China over claims on some of the Spratly Islands and other islets and shoals that lie within the country’s maritime zone or what it refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

Robles said BRP Alcaraz was a “good addition to the Navy fleet, period.”

“In terms of affecting the balance of power, it doesn’t do anything. China is so much ahead in terms of hardware and technology,” he said by phone.

“We can’t begin to measure up, even if we increase our naval assets 10 times. We’re using old technology; it will take us a long time to catch up in terms of technology alone, not just in number of assets,” he added.

Even stripped of its  sensors, communications and electronic equipment and close-in weapon systems, the BRP Alcaraz could help patrol Philippine waters, but never to be deployed to face off with a warship from another country, the retired commodore said.

“It will do as a Navy ship in our own waters… But never to confront another warship. We can be blown out of the water even before we see the enemy.”

To underline the fact that the Philippines was no match to China’s firepower, Political Science Prof. Benito Lim of the Ateneo de Manila University said the class-cutter was a “balisong” (fan knife) to China’s “machine gun”