Yesterday (May 27, 2022), a newly built coast guard vessel left Shimonoseki Port for the Philippines.
It is the second large coast guard vessel provided under the yen loan agreed upon between President Duterte and former Prime Minister Abe.
Japan has already provided 10 44-meter coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines between 2016 and 2018, and the new vessels are larger, at 97 meters, with a deck and hangar capable of landing and taking off helicopters.
According to Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, which built her, she is a high-performance coast guard ship with a maximum speed of 24 knots (43 km/h) and a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,200 km).
Like Japan, the Philippines is surrounded by the sea, and many ships come and go.
This is why coast guard is so important. In addition to ensuring the safety of vessels and saving lives in case of distress, coast guard vessels play an important role in the crackdown on terrorism and piracy.
In particular, China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea has been particularly serious, and a Japanese patrol vessel intervened to protect a Philippine fishing boat near Scarborough Reef when a Chinese maritime police vessel attempted to approach abnormally close to the boat.
Japan also provides coast guard vessels to Malaysia and Vietnam, but it appears that the Japan Coast Guard is not merely providing patrol vessels, but also educational and training programs.
The first large coast guard ship arrived in the Philippines in February and is named "Teresa Magbanua" after a woman who fought against colonial rule.
What will the second coast guard ship be named?
Melchora Aquino is a woman who is also known as the "Mother of the Revolution" in the Philippines. Also known as Tandang Sora, her name is the name of her birthplace.
